


Hard Road Again

by Smalls2233



Series: Redemption and Ruin [5]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Biting, Breathplay, Harpy Ana Amari, I guess it counts as breathplay at least, M/M, Post-Recall, Vampire Soldier 76, Werewolf Jesse McCree, demon reaper, gabriel uses smoke in ways that it probably shouldn't be used
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-01 20:13:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 43,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11493921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smalls2233/pseuds/Smalls2233
Summary: Jesse McCree finds out that, as it turns out, keeping the fact that you're a werewolf a secret is incredibly difficult when you're surrounded by the world's best. At least he's reunited with old friends and makes new ones, some who seem awfully suspicious of his disappearances and behavior around the full moon.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Check out the other parts of this series if you want context on this self-indulgent au haha

Jesse McCree swallowed hard as he stared down the cafe where he was supposed to meet up with Angela Ziegler. It had been about a month since he had finally answered the recall. A month spent with Gabriel, Jack, or towards the end, Sombra taking him into small towns and cities to get adjusted to being surrounded by humans again. There were so many scents and noises that weren’t there in the abandoned Overwatch base Jack, Ana, and Gabriel had settled in. They put him on edge, and proximity to people made him snappish. His mood swings had been better, but he was still quick to anger.

The trips had helped somewhat, but the noises, smells, and sheer amount of people in the city were making him twitchy and nervous. He lit a cigarillo and took a deep puff, trying to calm his nerves. He half wished that he still had his flask with him so he could take a drink, but knew he needed to be sober for his conversation with Angela.

“That’s really a terrible habit,”  a familiar voice said.

“It’s either these or booze, Doc,” Jesse laughed, turning around to see Angela with a small, fond smile on her face.

“How have you been, Jesse?” Angela said, bringing McCree in for a hug.

Jesse wrapped his arms around her, “could be better,” he said. “If only I could get the bounty on my head, I’d be a wealthy, happy man.” He pursed his lips around the cigarillo still in his mouth, “at least this life is never uneventful.”

“I’m sure yours is much more interesting than mine,” Angela agreed.

“How have you and Fareeha been, by the way?”

“I’ve been well, busy at the hospital, but that’s never a complaint. Fareeha has been constantly pushing and prodding at me to consider returning to Overwatch, though,” Angela sighed.

“It’s not a half bad idea, Z,” Jesse said. “The world needs Overwatch again.”

“I think that’s what you want the world to believe,” Angela let go of Jesse and added. “You smell like an ashtray, Jesse.”

Jesse smirked, “wonder why that is?” He motioned towards the cigarillo still in his mouth and Angela plucked it out, tossing it. “Now that’s just rude.”

“Your lungs will thank me,” Angela laughed, grabbing hold of McCree’s arm and leading him into the cafe. 

Jesse jumped when Angela grabbed hold of his arm, the unexpected contact surprising him in his keyed up, nervous state. “Sorry, darlin’,” he apologized when Angela looked at him in confusion. “Bein’ on the lam’s made me a bit twitchy,” it wasn’t exactly a lie -- it just wasn’t the whole truth.

Angela gave him a look, “Are you sure that you’re fit to go back to active duty with Overwatch?”

“Angela, I’ve been huntin’ bounties and runnin’ from the law for the past several years. If I don’t go back to Overwatch, I’ll go back to doin’ that and I’ll be in much worse shape there.”

“Maybe you should take a vacation.”

“I murdered people as a kid, sold nukes on the black market then too. I don’t think a vacation is something that any government would let me have.”

“You were a  _ kid _ , Overwatch should have had you cleared of that years ago.”

“Well, they didn’t, and Blackwatch just made things worse,” instinctively, he reached down to his belt to grab at his flask. His fingers closed on empty air and he mentally cursed Ana for taking his booze from him.

“It’s just, there was a  _ reason _ Overwatch was shut down,” Angela sighed. “I can’t help but think that Fareeha is still holding onto some childhood dream and you’re trying to relive your glory years.”

Jesse winced, “so what if I am? I’m an old man, Doc, lemme have this one.”

“You’re not even forty yet, Jesse.”

“There’s gray hair in my beard!”

“Jesse you’ve been going gray since you were thirty.”

“Don’t remind me,” Jesse groaned, punching Angela’s arm playfully. 

“Look, Jesse, if you’re calling yourself old, you’re calling me old. You’re just a couple of weeks older than me.”

“Yeah a couple of weeks for you to be young while I’m a decrepit old man,” Jesse threw his head back and put his hands over his heart dramatically. Angela chuckled and opened the door to the cafe.

“Okay, Grandpa, let’s just get inside so I can finally get some coffee and get out of the heat,” Angela motioned Jesse inside as she herself walked in. It was quiet inside the cafe, the smells were still overwhelming, but there were less noises and Jesse felt himself calming down, almost relaxing.

“You call this heat?” Jesse laughed. “Darlin’ let me take you to Deadlock Gorge one day, show you what real heat is.”

Angela stuck her tongue out at him, “I didn’t give you shit when you froze your ass off your first winter in Switzerland because you had never seen snow before, decided that going out in shorts and a t-shirt was a good idea, and got frostbite.”

“Well wasn’t that just mighty kind of ya, Angie. And ain’t stickin’ your tongue out real mature,” Jesse flicked her in the forehead.

“I don’t want to hear about maturity by a man who’s wearing spurs.”

“I put on my fancy spurs for you, Doc. Wanted to impress ya.”

“Let me go break up with Fareeha right now, I’m suddenly attracted to cowboys.”

“Well, darlin’, I’d have to turn you down. Got myself a nice man, he ain’t made me an honest man yet, but I think it’s on the horizon.”

Angela’s eyes lit up, “Jesse McCree’s got a boyfriend? When’d this happen?”

“Ah, bit over half a year ago,” Jesse scratched the back of his neck.

“And you didn’t tell me? I’m hurt, Jesse.”

“About that,” Jesse winced, realizing he probably should have kept his mouth shut. “He’s a bit private.”

“Too private for you to show your best friend even a picture of him.”

“I could show you his dick, that’s about all the pictures he sends to me.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“Angela, I’m sure I could open your phone right now and I could very quickly find pictures of Fareeha’s naked tits. I don’t want to, but I’m sure it’s in there,” Jesse snorted.

“Jackass,” Angela rolled her eyes, not disagreeing though, Jesse noted. “You’re introducing him to me someday, Jesse McCree. I don’t care if I have to bend your arm backwards, but it’s happening.”

Jesse drew a breath through his teeth, “I’m sure you’ll love him.” He was sure Angela would  _ not  _ love his boyfriend seeing as how her and Gabriel Reyes were rarely on good terms. They didn’t hate each other, but Gabriel tended to drive her (and in reality, most people not named Jesse McCree) up a wall.

Angela flicked Jesse’s hat up before walking to the counter and placing her order. Her order was something sweet, something that probably had enough calories for Jesse to give her, Doctor Healthy Eating, shit for it -- but he decided that he wouldn’t, because he’s a great guy, and it was something with probably four shots of espresso in it.

Jesse’s order was easier, just a decaf, no sugar, no cream. Angela raised her eyebrows at him, “I’ve never seen you order decaf before.”

Apparently Jesse wasn't as great a guy as he thought he was, “I’ve never seen you order something with enough calories to sustain the entire SEP before,” he shot back. Angela was right, though, he rarely ordered decaf. “I’m bein’ health conscious, caffeine’s bad for you.”

“I’m going to ignore that you were just smoking a cigarillo and probably still drink too much alcohol.”

“See, Angela, those are good for my soul.” The tobacco and alcohol kept him grounded, he didn’t add. Dulled his senses, made him less wolfy around all these people. “Anyway, you don’t see a flask on me, I’m on the wagon… ish.”

Angela raised an eyebrow, “I’d rather the ish not be there, Jesse.”

Jesse took a slow sip of his coffee, “can you really blame me?” He had been good with Jack, Gabe, and Ana, he hadn’t been as drowned in alcohol as he had been when trying to forget about Overwatch. With Sombra, he was a bit worse. He wasn’t day drinking, wasn’t stealing sips from his flask when things were getting to be too much, but he’d hit the bars with Sombra until he was passed out and she had to carry him back to his shitty motel room. He was amazed that a woman as tiny as her could drink him under the table.

“I guess I can’t,” Angela sighed. “Saying you’ve seen some shit would be putting it lightly.”

Jesse nudged Angela’s cup with his own, making his own  _ clink _ sound effect, “I’ve lived through it, though, we both have, that’s what matters.” Angela had been there in the day of the blast, narrowly escaped with her life.

“I think I’d like to keep my death defying escapades in the past.”

“Now don’t get boring on me, Z,” Jesse laughed. “Are you sure you don’t miss Overwatch?”

“It’s not that I don’t miss it, but Overwatch won’t be the same anymore, Jesse,” Angela’s tone was gentle. “Who knows who’s answering the recall, there’s so many people we lost. There’s no traitor commander for you to hang off his every word.”

“I didn’t hang off of Reyes’ every word,” Jesse protested.

“Jesse, when you and I celebrated your twenty fifth birthday you spent an hour whining on about how unfair it was that Reyes was, and I quote ‘such a fucking hot bastard he’s gonna be the death of me.’”

Jesse choked on his sip of coffee, “well that’s a lie, I don’t remember that at all.”

“I’m sure you don’t because you had drank like three bottles of wine.”

“That was over twenty years ago! How would you even remember that?”

“I’ve got a good memory for the stupid shit Jesse McCree says.”

“I’m not sure how you can remember all that,” Jesse laughed.

“I think sometimes I forget medical things because the dumb shit you’ve said and done is burned into my mind,” Angela grinned and took a sip of her drink. “Once when you were plastered you told Jack that he should get the stick out of his stupid twink ass.”

“I didn’t.”

“You did and it was hysterical, you should have seen the look on Jack’s face.”

“I can’t believe I called Jack Morrison a twink,” Jesse groaned. “He was obviously a twunk.”

“Do I want to know what that is?”

“Not really.”

“Do you want me to go on?”

“No.”

“Too bad, once you slapped Reyes’ ass.”

“I’m never touching alcohol again,” Jesse made a mental note to send a text to the group text and ask if he had really done those things.

Angela laughed, “wow, if I had known getting you to stop drinking as as easy as telling you only a couple of the embarrassing things you’ve done, I would have done this a long time ago.” Jesse flipped her off and she continued. “You know, as stupid as it sounds, I still miss them. Jack and Ana, hell, even Gabriel.” She sighed, playing with a loose thread. “I know what happened, but I still want to believe that Gabriel hadn’t been so insane.”

Jesse licked his lips and cupped Angela’s hand with his own, “yeah, me too,” he said softly.  _ Fuck _ , he wanted to tell her the truth, but knew it wasn’t the time nor the place.

Angela tapped her cup against Jesse’s, mimicking his  _ clink _ sound effect. “To all the friends we’ve lost.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Jesse said, gulping down coffee. Ana, Jack, and Gabriel might still have been alive, but he had lost so many other friends throughout the years. If there was one thing he wasn’t looking forward to with the return of Overwatch, it was the return of seeing his friends die around him.

Jesse was about to take another sip when the front door of the cafe opened up, the brief moment allowing all of the noises and the smells of the outside city to pour in. Jesse jumped, spilling half of his remaining coffee all over himself. “Fuck, shit, goddammit,” he swore as he grabbed a wad of napkins and started trying to wipe the hot coffee off of himself.

Angela looked at him, worried. “Are you okay, Jesse? You’ve been really jumpy today.”

“Don’t worry about it, Angela,” Jesse said, waving her off with a hand. “I’m just not used to sudden noises that don’t come without somebody tryin’ to kill me.” Again a half truth. “What you should be worried about is if I just gave my dick a third degree burn, because if I did, I’d be askin’ you to fix it up for me.” He laughed, trying to get Angela’s focus off of how twitchy and jumpy he was so she wouldn’t start asking any hard questions that he wouldn’t be able to answer.

“You’ll get a robo dick to match your robo arm,” Angela snorted.

“Well ain’t that the most ladylike thing you’ve ever said.” Angela swatted him on the arm and he yelped.

“Don’t you dare start that with me, Jesse McCree,” Angela laughed and Jesse was relieved that he managed to get her attention away from his behavior.

“Now, I’m just sayin’ darlin’, it’s a good thing that you never tried nothing with me, because you’re too violent and your language is too foul for me to deal with in a lady. Once I think I heard you say ‘darn it to heck’ and if that ain’t the crudest thing I’ve heard in my fucking life, well, call me a mangy mutt.”

“I think I could call you a mangy mutt for many other things, cowboy,” Angela laughed, reaching over to flick Jesse’s hat off of his head. “I think one could be that your hair’s thinning.”

Jesse reached up with a panicked hand to feel his scalp, “I think that you’re a damn liar, Angela Ziegler.”

Angela grinned, “maybe not thinning, but I see some streaks of gray, old man.”

“Like you don’t have at least one gray hair,” Jesse protested. “‘Sides, I thought we addressed this already!”

Angela burst out laughing, hard enough that there were tears in her eyes when she finally looked back up at Jesse, “I missed you, Jesse.” She said, wiping away a tear, still grinning ear to ear.

“Yeah well I guess I missed you too, Angie, it’s been too long,” he reached over and ruffled her hair in payback for knocking off his hat. He had forgotten how nice it was, being around her. They had a rocky start to their friendship -- he had a rocky start to pretty much any relationship with people he had met in Overwatch. But Angela had quickly become one of Jesse’s closest friends. When he either had been forced to take time off from duty as a vacation, or suspended for any of the stupid fly decisions he made, he’d spend that downtime in the infirmary, helping out. Then when her shift was over, the two would grab a bottle of wine or two or five and down it while watching old movies. He’d force her to watch old westerns, she forced him to watch terrible old romcoms and less terrible action movies.

After the fall of Overwatch, he and Angela kept in contact, sending texts and emails, but they rarely had gotten a chance to see each other. His criminal status made getting anywhere legally difficult and she kept busy with her job as a surgeon. It was nice, easy, to be around and goof off with her again like they did when they were in their twenties.

Angela laughed again, “you better stop roughhousing before you knock the rest of your coffee onto yourself. Just because you’re my friend doesn’t mean you get my services for free.”

“What about being your  _ best  _ friend?” Jesse asked before downing the rest of his coffee in one gulp. 

“Maybe that’d get you some special perks,” Angela laughed as she took another sip of her drink.

“Shit, Z, didn’t know you were tryin’ to rival me in facial hair,” Jesse scratched at his moustache and Angela quickly brought her hand to her face, wiping away the whipped cream that was covering her top lip.

“What? Patchy and untamed?” She shot back.

“Ouch, that’s low,” Jesse winced. “I like to think that I’ve a nice beard.”

“You can keep telling yourself that, cowboy,” Angela said. Jesse made an ugly face and stole some of the whipped cream from the top of Angela’s drink. “You’ve got something,” she waved at his face.

Jesse ran a finger through his moustache, picking up some whipped cream. “Yeah, was plannin’ on saving it for a midnight snack.” 

Angela threw a wad of napkins at him, “you’re disgusting.”

Jesse wiped the whipped cream off, “nah, I think I’m a genius.”

“I think I’ll have to rejoin Overwatch just to keep an eye on you and Fareeha,” Angela rolled her eyes. “Did you know that she thought mayonnaise was a dairy product?”

“Holy shit,” Jesse cackled.

“Yeah! She’s thirty two and thought that mayonnaise came from cows. How is that possible?”

“Probably because she was raised by a village of idiots,” Jesse said. “Hopefully Ana instilled some healthy eating habits in her, because she grew up with two super soldiers who’d eat anything you threw in front of them.”

Angela groaned, “don’t even get me started on her eating habits, Jesse. I swear to God, sometimes I think she lives off of frozen meals.”

“You’re the one who made the bad decision to date her, not me.”

“Jesse, I’m pretty sure you’ve tried to live off of alcohol before.”

“It’s got calories and carbs.”

“I’m not even going to get started on how stupid you are.”

“I’m hurt.”

“You’ll live.”

“I’ll live better if you rejoin Overwatch,” Jesse leaned over, stealing some more whipped cream.

“One, get your own drink if you want to steal all my whipped cream,” Angela said. “Two, you and Fareeha are never gonna shut up about trying to get me to join back up, are you?”

“Nope on both accounts,” Jesse laughed.

Angela rolled her eyes, “give me time to think about it, Jesse. It’s not a small decision to make.”

“I understand,” Jesse said. “I’ll feel a lot better if I know you’re there to patch me back up, though, Doc.”

“Don’t give me those puppy dog eyes, Jesse McCree,” Angela laughed as Jesse pouted at her. “I said I’ll think about it.” She looked at her watch and swore, “shit, I don’t want to cut this short, but I’ve got a meeting I need to get to.”

Jesse stood up and held his arms open for a hug, when Angela stepped into his arms, he wrapped them tight around her and put his head on her shoulder. “It was good to see you again, I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, Jesse,” Angela replied, squeezing him. “I’ll let you know before anybody but Fareeha on my decision about Overwatch.”

Jesse held tight onto the hug for a couple more seconds before relaxing his grip and kissing Angela on the forehead. “Well, even if you don’t join up, I’m sure you’ll know where to find me.” 

“Dying on the battlefield somewhere, probably,” Angela laughed as she kissed his cheek. “Trim your beard, dummy, I’m sure your mystery boyfriend doesn’t appreciate it.”

“Aw, Angie, don’t be mean. He loves my beard,” Jesse whined, rubbing his cheek on Angela’s.

Angela pushed him away, “you’ve already ruined my hair, don’t cut up my face with your beard too. I’ve got important people to talk to.”

“Yeah, you’re talkin’ to him,” Jesse laughed, pulling away. “I’ll be in town for a couple more days before I head to Gibraltar, so if you wanna get lunch or dinner, let me know and I’ll be more than happy to be your handsome date.”

Angela swatted him, smiling, “I’m not sure about handsome, but I’ll take you up on a dinner date.”

“Hurtful words!” Jesse laughed, kissing Angela on the cheek again before she left. Angela winked and blew him a kiss, opening the door to the outside world. Jesse managed to not jump ten feet in the air this time, but he still wasn’t looking forward to going back to the world of its unpleasant smells and sounds. The relaxation he felt around Angela kept him calm, though, as he left the cafe and headed back to his shitty motel, ready to hit Jack and Gabe up about all of the stupid things he had said to them while completely plastered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well it's the start of the recall fic!  
> Follow me on twitter/tumblr/instagram @smalls2233


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse reunites with old friends, unites with new friends, and gets a broken nose.

The warm breeze of Gibraltar rustled Jesse’s ratty old serape as he approached the rusty chain link fence surrounding the area. He snorted when he saw the keep out signs, like that kept Winston out. Cautiously, he walked around the perimeter, listening for signs of people.

“Just get in there already, McCree,” Sombra said in his ear through a communicator.

“I’m bein’ cautious, Sombra,” McCree retorted.

“Pfft,” Sombra scoffed. “I think you’re being a coward.”

“Well I think you’re being an idiot.”

“Oooooh, what a  _ great _ comeback. I’ll write that down in my notebook of comebacks. Oh wait, I have it in here already, said by a…” She held the a on for a few seconds, “five year old,” she cackled.

“Bye, Sombra,” Jesse pulled the communicator out of his ear and stashed it away in a repurposed flashbang Sombra had given him. She said it’d keep any of his comm devices he’d been given by her and Gabriel hidden from any other tech made to scan for those things.

Sighing, Jesse hopped the fence of the Watchpoint, ears pricked for any human noises. There were none nearby, but he could hear faint noises from inside of the building. It was weird, walking around the base again. It was so familiar to him, but there were signs of decay and disuse everywhere. Grass was growing through cracks in the asphalt, paint was chipping, metal was rusted. 

Jesse ran a hand along a bullet hole in the wall, smiling as he remembered what caused it -- Gabriel had him running training exercises in the pitch black, telling him to learn to shoot by sound if he couldn’t see. Jesse told him that he was being a fucking idiot because he’d have night vision goggles. Gabriel told him that he wasn’t allowed back in the base until either he was out of bullets or all the training bots were destroyed. Jesse had come back hours later and threw the head of a bot onto Gabriel’s desk.

Small memories like that came bubbling up as he walked the familiar route. He wanted to text Gabriel pictures of each spot he came across that made him think of Gabe, but he refrained. He didn’t want anybody asking questions about why he was taking pictures of the Watchpoint, he knew he’d be under enough scrutiny soon enough anyway.

His meandering route eventually led him to an entrance to the base where he heard the loudest voices coming from inside. He stood at the threshold of the door for a moment, fist raised in the air, inches away from the metal. He was half tempted to turn around and leave, the full weight of the decision to rejoin Overwatch pressing down on his shoulders, when the door opened in front of him.

He had about half a second to prepare himself before he was half-tackled, half-hugged by Lena blinking in front of him. “Jesse!” She exclaimed, latching on.

Jesse patted her back, “hey, kid. You go time travel to the future in order to tell when I’d be gettin’ here?”

Lena giggled, “you know it doesn’t work that way -- Winston saw you on the security cameras, I figured I’d let you in.”

“How’s your girlfriend… Emma?” He searched for her name.

“It’s Emily, and she’s well,” Lena replied. “Worried about all this, but can you blame her?”

“Nah, my boyfriend was worried too, he wouldn’t admit it though.”

Lena got into his face, “you have a boyfriend? Genji’s not gonna believe this.”

Jesse scratched at his beard, “does everybody think I’m undateable? Angela was asking for pics of him, I’m pretty sure half because she didn’t believe he’s real.”

“Do you have pictures of him? I bet he’s cute.”

Jesse groaned, “none that you’d want to see.”

“Why not?”

“Let’s move on from this.”

Lena raised her eyebrows, “you sure he’s real?”

“I’m sure that you don’t want to see pictures of my boyfriend’s penis.”

“Um,” Lena struggled to find words. “Are those the only pictures you have of him?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“I mean, it’d be a learning experience I guess.”

“Yeah, you don’t have much experience with dicks,” Jesse laughed.

“Just wait until you meet one of the new guys, you’ll be amending that statement.”

“Oh shit, how bad is he that Lena, middle name Sweetie Pie, Oxton is talking trash about him?”

“I can be mean!” Lena protested. “But remember how Genji was back in Blackwatch?”

Jesse cringed, “I nearly got slit, throat to belly for making a joke at his expense once, so yeah.”

“This guy’s ten times worse.”

“Holy shit.”

“I know, right!” Lena threw her hands up in the air. “I’m not even sure why he answered the recall, he looks like he barely wants to be here.”

“What’s his name?” Jesse was curious.

“I’ll leave you to figure that out for yourself, Jesse,” Lena replied, pulling him inside the base. “Go say hey to everybody, we’ve all missed you.”

Everybody, as it turned out to be, was Lena, Winston, Reinhardt, Fareeha, Genji, two kids that Jesse didn’t know (they introduced themselves as Lucio Correia dos Santos and Hana Song), and who he assumed to be the mystery dick that Lena had mentioned to him.

After extending his greetings to his old friends, smiling and laughing, and meeting the two kids who were both mildly surprised that Jesse had never heard of them, he turned his attention to Mystery Asshole. 

“Howdy, stranger,” Jesse said, tipping his hat and extending his hand. The stranger shook his hand with a firm grip. “Name’s Jesse McCree, how about yours?”

“Hanzo Shimada,” the not-so-mystery man replied.

“Ah,” Jesse said dumbly, smile quickly slipping from his face. He let go of Hanzo’s hand and looked towards Genji. “Genji, mind if we have a word in private?” He motioned with his head towards another room and Genji got up. Jesse ignored Hanzo’s confused look and everybody else’s concerned looks as he walked into the other room, shutting the door behind him when Genji entered.

“I’ve got a question for you, Genji,” Jesse ground out.

“Ask away, partner,” Genji mimicked Jesse’s drawl.

“Now my memory’s a bit hazy, but you have a brother who tried to murder you, correct?”

“Yup.”

“And that brother’s name is Hanzo, correct?”

“Exactly that,” Genji nodded.

“And I promised that I’d put a bullet in your brother’s brain if I ever saw him, right?”

“Unfortunately, you did.”

“So what the  _ fuck _ is your brother doing here, Genji?”

Genji removed the faceplate on his mask to look Jesse in the eyes. “I have forgiven my brother for what he had done to me, Jesse.”

“He tried to kill you, Genji.”

“I know better than anyone what my brother did to me.”

Jesse swore, “a man who turns on his own brother’s worth less than garbage.”

Genji rested a hand on Jesse’s shoulder, “McCree, it’s fine.”

“It’s not fine,” a growl left McCree’s throat before he could stop it. “It’s not fine, and I’m gonna go have a little chat with him.”

“Jesse,  _ no _ ,” Genji hissed as McCree slammed open the door and stormed over to Hanzo. “Relax, it’s  _ fine _ . Stop doing this.”

McCree ignored him and brushed past the staring faces straight to Hanzo Shimada. “You an’ I are gonna have a little chat,” he pulled Hanzo up by the back of his neck and dragged him over to the wall. Amazingly, Hanzo put up no resistance, just glared at McCree with intense, dark eyes as McCree shifted his grip from the back of his neck to a near chokehold.

“What do you want, Cowboy?” Hanzo sneered.

“If you as much look at Genji the wrong way,” McCree snarled. “You’re gettin’ a bullet in your brain.” He tightened his grip on Hanzo’s neck.

“He has forgiven me for the past,” was Hanzo’s response.

“I don’t give a  _ shit _ about if Genji’s forgiven you. What I give a shit about is that  _ I _ don’t trust you.”

“Like I trust a Deadlock gangbanger.”

“ _ Maybe I should have told him _ ,” McCree barely heard Lena whisper to somebody behind him. The blood pounding in his ears made it hard for him to focus on anything but Hanzo in front of him.

He ignored Lena as he slammed Hanzo’s head up against the wall, “I ain’t been one of them for years.”

“And I haven’t tried to murder Genji in years.”

“ _ Don’t get smart with me _ ,” McCree hissed, tightening his grip around Hanzo’s throat before letting go, making Hanzo collapse to the ground, gasping for breath.

Jesse was pulled away from Hanzo by Reinhardt. “That’s enough, Jesse,” Reinhardt said firmly.

Jesse shook him off, “I need a drink.”

“I’ve got sake,” Hanzo offered from the floor.

Jesse spun around, “do you want to fuckin’ go, Shimada?”

“Jesse,” Reinhardt said in warning tone.

“It’ll be an easy fight with you,” Hanzo replied and Jesse felt himself bristling again.

Vaguely, Jesse was aware that he was growling softly and baring his teeth. He prayed that he wasn’t sprouting ears or getting hairy. That would be hard to explain away. “Meet me in the training room,” he spat, storming out.

“Jesse’s usually friendly,” he heard Fareeha attempting to reassure Lucio and Hana.

He didn’t catch the responses as he slammed the training room door open and flicked on the lights. He eyed the set of weights in the corner, debated whether or not pumping iron would help to settle his racing heart. He  _ really _ wanted some booze. He also really knew that he needed to calm down, that this reaction was half caused by the wolf in him.

He squashed that reasonable side of his brain as he threw a couple of punches at punching bag. He imagined that it was Hanzo. He punched harder.

He didn’t hear when Hanzo entered the room, too busy destroying the punching bag in front of him. “Hopefully you’ll go easier on my face than on that punching bag,” Hanzo said.

“You’re lucky that you’re not dead right now, Shimada,” McCree ground out, turning around to face Hanzo.

“Just like Genji,” Hanzo sneered, trying to get a rise out of McCree.

It worked, McCree threw himself at Hanzo who sidestepped easily. Hanzo came in close throwing a few cautious punches that McCree blocked. Hanzo caught McCree in the jaw with a right hook and McCree returned the favor.

McCree didn’t like how Hanzo looked at him, something about his eyes unnerved him. They were too intense, too focused, there was just something not quite right about them. “You’ve got some nerve, coming ‘round here, you know?” McCree spat as he circled Hanzo cautiously, trying to find an opening.

He had noticed that Hanzo had strong arms and was quick, but his kicks were weak. So he turned his focus to trying to trip him up. “I’m trying to make up for my past mistakes, Jesse McCree. I’m sure you’re familiar with that concept,” Hanzo said, staring McCree down and aiming a punch for McCree’s ribs after dodging a sweeping kick aimed at his legs.

“You know nothin’ about me,” McCree hissed as he kneed Hanzo in the stomach, feeling ribs snap as he rammed his knee upwards. 

Hanzo clutched his stomach and wheezed for breath, “that’s what you’d like to think.” He brought his forehead hammering down onto McCree’s nose who howled in pain as he felt it break.

The two men circled each other, Hanzo clutching his stomach and bleeding from several cuts on his cheek and chest from where McCree had decked him with his metal hand. Jesse was holding his nose, trying to stop the bleeding. He was surprised that he and Hanzo were so evenly matched, Hanzo was far from a small man and Jesse was trying to stay onto some form of human level of strength, but Hanzo was keeping up far better than Jesse expected.

“You’re good,” Hanzo said.

“Hm,” Jesse hummed, not wanting to compliment Hanzo in return.

“Genji has told me much about you,” Hanzo continued on.

“I’d rather we get back to bashin’ each others’ faces in.”

“I’m finished with that.”

“You’re not finished until I say you are,” McCree growled.

“No, I believe that I am. Goodbye, Jesse McCree,” Hanzo said dismissively, looking too damn haughty and proud for a man who probably had a rib or two broken. He wore a nasty sneer as he left the training room, head held high, arms clutching his stomach and ribs. McCree did not throw a dumbbell at the door when it closed, that would be unreasonable.  
(He threw two, they hit the wall, they dented the wall, they landed on the floor with an unsatisfying thud.)

Jesse steamed and fumed in the training room for around half an hour until the blood drying in his beard made him want to leave and get a shower. He was more calm than he had been, but his pulse was still hammering, he needed to talk to Gabe to get grounded before he started wolfing out.

Jesse nearly ran face-first into Lena when he finally left the training room. He made a soft oof as he backed up, hands in the air as an apology. “Sorry, sweetheart,” he apologized. “Didn’t think anybody’d be gettin’ near here after my explosion.”

Lena played with one of her earrings, “I probably should’ve told you about Hanzo,” she winced.

Jesse exhaled sharply, “my reaction was probably out of line,” he admitted.

“We’ve all been wanting to do it,” Lena shrugged.

“Still, wasn’t kind of me to scare the new kids,” Jesse was jittery, blood still hammering in his ears.

“They’re not kids.”

“I’m old, Lena, you’re all kids to me.”

Lena scoffed, “whatever,  _ Grandpa _ . Want me to show you to your room so you can set your stuff down and get a shower?”

“I was thinkin’ of keeping the blood in my beard, make it a new Overwatch fashion trend,” jokes were easy. Jokes kept attention off of his weird behavior, jokes let people stop getting personal, so Jesse stuck to making jokes.

“I’m sure it’ll catch on,” Lena laughed. “Anyway, you’re in for a surprise when I show you where your room is.”

“Is it better than your Hanzo surprise?”

Lena winced, “that  _ was _ a pretty bad surprise.”

“You’re tellin’ me,” Jesse laughed.

“But you’ll like it, I know you will,” Lena brightened, blinking ahead.

“Now darlin’ you’re gonna need to slow down and let me keep up. Since this is a surprise, I don’t got a clue where you’re takin’ me.” Lena waited up for him, foot hammering impatiently as he slowly walked his way towards her. He wanted to give himself more time to settle his pulse before getting near her. When he finally got to her, they linked elbows and he had her lead the way through the Watchpoint. His pulse was finally at an almost normal level. He still desperately wanted that drink.

“Got a lot of memories of this place,” Jesse said with a low whistle as they passed an old, disused room. He had passed out there once in a Blackwatch party after it got out of hand.

“Not all bad, I’d hope.”

“Nah, just the ones with you, Pipsqueak,” Jesse laughed, Lena elbowed him in the ribs. “Ow!” He yelped, “I’m tender there.”

“Whose fault is that? I’m not the one who picked a fight with Hanzo Shimada.”

“Look, I didn’t blow his brains out, so look on the bright side.” Lena led him down the hall, past where he knew the turn to the rooms were. “Think you made a wrong turn, Oxton,” he said. “All the rooms are back attaway,” he motioned backwards with his head.

“Not all the rooms,” Lena said, pulling on his arm as he slowed down.

“Shit, did I answer the recall just to be thrown in jail?”

“Well, Overwatch needed the cash…” Lena began, keeping a straight face for only a few moments before bursting out laughing. “No, no, I told you it’d be a nice surprise, just keep walking with me.”

Jesse raised his eyebrows and shrugged, “as long as there’s a shower, I’m fine with a broom closet.”

“It’s a bit nicer than a broom closet, it’s--” Lena cut herself off. “No more talking, I’m gonna spoil the surprise.”

“Now sweetheart, I wouldn’t mind bein’ told where you were takin’ me.”

Lena shushed him, “we’re almost there, so just hold your horses.” She tried imitating Jesse’s southern accent. 

“What the fuck was that?” Jesse laughed. “Did you just have a stroke?”

“Fuck off, I’d like to see you try an English accent.”

“Nah, I’d like to keep my dignity.”

“You’re dressed like a cowboy.”

“Yeah, I’d like to keep my dignity.”

“You’re wearing spurs.”

“My dignity would enjoy staying in tact.”

“Your gun has a spur on it.”

“It’s high fashion.”

“I can’t believe you, Jesse McCree. I’d continue pointing out how silly you look but,” Lena stopped in front of a door and threw her arms out. “Tah-dah, we’re here.”

“Wow, a room in a hallway.”

“Look at the sign by the door, jerk.”

Jesse leaned in close, wiping off the dust from the sign by the side of the room. “I think you made a mistake,” he said after a few moments of silence.

“It’s no mistake! Winston and I were talking after you answered the recall and we both agreed,” Tracer beamed, grabbing one of Jesse’s hands. “We want you to be the new commander of Blackwatch.”

“Well,” Jesse said, blinking dumbly. “You were right, this  _ is _ a mighty big surprise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on twitter/tumblr/instagram @smalls2233


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse makes his decision on commanding Blackwatch.

Lena stared at Jesse, smile wide and eyes bright. “I told you it’d be a good surprise!”

Jesse was having trouble finding the words to say, “I, um, well,” he stammered. “ _ Shit _ , Oxton, how many bombs are you gonna drop on me today? Next you’re gonna tell me that I’m the queen of England.”

Lena cracked up, “be serious, Jesse. Come on, what do you say?”

Jesse scratched the back of his neck, “I think it’s a mighty big decision. You sure I’m the man you’d want headin’ this?”

“Of course, Jesse, you were probably Blackwatch’s best agent.”

“Well that’s awful kind of you to say.”

“It’s the truth!”

“I’m blushing.”

“Now come on, what’s your verdict?”

“Fuck, Lena, you’re really puttin’ me on the spot here. I’d agree to anything though, as long as it’d let me get a shower.”

“So is that a yes?”

“Could I really say no?”

Lena threw her arms around Jesse, “I’m so glad you said yes!” 

Jesse patted her on the back a few times, “wanna let go before I get blood all over ya?” He asked, prying her off of him.

“Go get a shower, I’m gonna go tell everybody,” and with that, Lena blinked off.

“Jesus christ,” Jesse sighed, holding onto the doorframe. “This is gonna be the death of me,” his heart was hammering in his chest again and he reached down for his flask before remembering that it wasn’t there. He swore softly as he opened the door to the room, blinking as it lit up brightly.

Before doing anything else, he pulled out an old Blackwatch scanner that Sombra had updated for him and scanned the room for any cameras or microphones. Satisfied that there was nothing in there, he wandered the room, trying to piece together the memory of the single night he had spent there. It was after a Blackwatch party, Gabriel had dragged Jesse back to his room. Jesse couldn’t remember the reason but he remembered thinking that he was painfully in love with his commander. He also remembered spending almost the entire night vomiting up everything he drank, hunched over Gabriel’s toilet, Gabriel holding his hair back. Real romantic.

The room had never been personal, even Gabriel’s room in Zurich’s most personal belonging was a sewing machine and a picture from the strike team days, but Jesse felt himself sighing as the room was now completely different. It was a blank slate, a desk and chair were on one wall, a coffee table and sofa on another. When he wandered into the bedroom portion, the bed was made with freshly laundered sheets, white and blue instead of Gabriel’s dark red.

Jesse threw his duffel bag of belongings onto the floor beside the bed and started shucking off clothes, neatly folding his serape and placing his hat on top of it. His nose ached and he dreaded the prospect of having to set it, but also not wanting to seek out any actual medical assistance.

He didn’t know how long he was gonna be able to dodge going through any medical procedures, but he had to for as long as possible. He didn’t know what the doctors would find if they tested his blood, and his temperature now ran hotter than any human’s. Hell, just trying to pass for a human while doing anything physical would be a struggle too. 

Jesse sighed as he turned the water on in the shower, standing beneath its hot spray. He thought about Gabriel showering there, he thought about Gabriel jerking off in that shower, he switched the temperature of the water to cold. He threw his head back in the water and let the blood covering his face wash away. He scrubbed at his beard until the water ran clear from it, and then turned his attention to his hair, lathering it up with the standard issue Overwatch shampoo that he hadn’t missed in the least and rinsing it clean.

When he decided that he was clean enough, he left the cold shower and shook some of the water from his hair before wrapping a towel around his waist. He flopped down onto the bed and pulled out his phone to finally give Gabriel a call and decompress. 

Gabriel picked up on the third ring, hologram of him appearing above the phone. “Hey babe, what happened to your nose?” He asked.

McCree groaned, “fuck, I still gotta set that, give me a sec.” 

“Want me to walk you through it?”

“Nah, I got it, just tell me about your day or somethin’ to keep my mind off this while I do it.”

“It’s been boring without you,” Gabriel said, watching Jesse carefully as he began trying to set his nose himself. “Talon’s been quiet so I’ve been hanging around base.”

Jesse gasped in pain as he quickly snapped his nose back into place. “Fuck, does it look straight, Gabe?”

“About as straight as the rest of you,” Gabriel laughed. “So how’d it happen?” 

“Remember Genji Shimada?” Jesse asked.

“Yeah, good agent, bad personality.”

“I think he’s better now, but remember how we got him?”

“Sliced in half at the tit thanks to his brother?”

“Yup.”

“What’s that got to do with it?”

“Well, remember my promise I made to Genji?”

“You saw his brother,” Gabriel put together the pieces of the puzzle Jesse had laid in front of him.

“I broke his brother’s ribs.”

“Shit, McCree,” Gabriel groaned. “You’re telling me you  _ immediately _ got into a fight?”

Jesse sighed, “I hate to admit it, but I think Ana was right about it being too soon.” He ran a hand down his face, avoiding his broken nose, “it wasn’t like the first time shifting, but  _ fuck _ was I furious.”

“You didn’t wolf out at all though, right?”

“Nah, thank the fuckin’ lord for that.”

“You okay now, Babe?” Gabriel asked.

“Better now that I’m talkin’ to you,” Jesse confessed. “I think I was one more surprise away from sprouting ears and a tail.”

“One more surprise?” Gabriel asked. “How many surprises did you get?”

“Shit, I forgot to mention the second bit of the day,” Jesse said. “This one, admittedly, was a pretty nice one, but boy howdy was it a surprise.”

“What was it?”

“They asked me to be the fuckin’ commander of Blackwatch.”

“They  _ what _ ?” Gabriel’s eyebrows rose to the point where Jesse thought they’d launch into space.

“Yeah! I know, what the hell are they thinking, I came in, got in a fistfight, and now I’m the commander of Blackwatch.”

Gabriel hummed, “sounds like that’s a recurring theme for you.”

“How do you mean?”

“Jesse, I didn’t realize getting your nose broken gave you amnesia. Think about how you came into Overwatch in the first place, or come to think of it, how you and I reunited,” Gabriel laughed.

Jesse was silent for a few moments, “well shit,” he laughed. “Guess bein’ a violent shithead pays off.”

“Wouldn’t go that far, I think I’d sum it up more of Jesse McCree is an incredibly lucky dumbass.”

Jesse laughed, “well, let’s just pray my luck doesn’t run out.” A knocking at his door interrupted his thoughts. “Hey, babe, I’ll call you back later, somebody’s at the door.”

“Bye, pup,” Gabriel said, hanging up.

“Give me a moment,” Jesse yelled at the door, throwing on clean clothes and trying to make himself look presentable. 

“Too late, I’m letting myself in,” Fareeha called, opening the door and flopping down on his sofa. “The hell are your trousers?” She asked, looking unimpressed at the half-dressed Jesse in front of her.

“Well, I had been in the middle of chattin’ with my boyfriend on the phone after gettin’ a shower when you decided to let yourself in,” McCree began.

“Were you sexting?” Fareeha asked.

“What do you take me for?” Jesse laughed. “Nah, we were just chatting.”

“I take you for a man who the only photos he has of his boyfriend are dick pics.”

“I shouldn’t have told Angela that.”

“Alas, you did, and I wanna see them.”

“Would you let me finish getting dressed first?” Jesse had been one arm through a fresh flannel when Fareeha let herself in.

“I kinda want to not let you get dressed so I can burn your clothes and buy you new ones,” Fareeha shrugged.

“Why does everybody hate my sense of fashion?”

Fareeha cocked an eyebrow, “are you seriously asking that?”

Jesse threw his hat at her and she caught it. “What’d you need anyway, nerd?”

Fareeha plopped his hat onto her head, “wanted to see how you were doing, you smashed like three of Hanzo’s ribs.”

Jesse grinned despite himself, “makes my broken nose worth it.”

Fareeha snorted, “I’m sure it does.”

“Move over,” Jesse said, giving Fareeha barely any time to prepare before he flopped down on the couch next to her. “Angela give you any updates on her decision to join up?”

“Ugh, not yet. I think she’ll join though, if only to make sure you don’t blow your other arm off.”

“Such faith in me,” he leaned down onto Fareeha’s shoulder and she tweaked his beard.

“You need to shave.”

“Your girlfriend told me the same thing.”

“Aw, I knew I could trust her to have good taste,” she laughed.

“She’s dating you, so I’m not sure how good her taste is.” This earned McCree a hard tug at his beard. “Ow! That’s still attached to my face!”

“It wouldn’t be there for me to pull if you’d shave.”

Jesse scowled, “I like my beard.”

“ _ You  _ have the bad taste.”

Jesse stuck his tongue out at her, “I have great taste, thank you very much.”

“Whatever, Jesse,” Fareeha laughed. “I wanna see those dick pics.”

Jesse winced, “are you serious?”

“Duh, I gotta make sure that your boyfriend’s real and those are the only photos you have of him,” she tugged at Jesse’s beard again.

“I’m half tempted to shave this just to get you to stop pullin’ at it,” Jesse laughed as he reached for his phone. He was glad that he had the good decision to change the contact names for his supposedly-dead friends into pet names or just fake names.

Fareeha plucked his phone out of his hand almost as soon as he unlocked it and started scrolling through his texts with Gabriel. “Shit, you two are kinky,” she said, eyebrows raised as she read a particularly long message from Gabriel.

Jesse felt color rise to his cheeks, “I didn’t say you could read our texts, those are  _ private _ .”

“I’ll let you read through some that Angela’s sent me,” Fareeha shrugged, continuing to scroll through. An ugly look of disgust crossed her face when she saw the first photo. “Well, I wanted to see dick pics, and I guess I got that,” she showed the phone to Jesse and he recognized it immediately as his own penis.

“Wow, it’s like if ya go scrollin’ through somebody’s phone you’ll see something you don’t want to see,” Jesse cackled.

“Ugh, whatever, take your phone back and show me the picture of your kinky boyfriend’s dick so I don’t have to see another picture of yours.”

“Of course, sweetheart,” Jesse said, scrolling up a bit until he reached a picture of Gabriel’s dick. Briefly, he wondered how Fareeha would react in the future when she inevitably learned that she had been going through the sexts of Gabriel Reyes. “Here you go.”

Fareeha’s eyes went wide, “damn,” she said with an appreciative whistle. “You know my feelings on guys, but  _ damn _ , Jesse. You hit the jackpot.”

Jesse grinned, “hell yeah I did. Now go tell Angela that he’s real.”

“What’s his name?”

“There’s no way I’m gonna tell you that.”

“You literally just showed me a picture of his penis.”

“Yeah, well, shut up,” Jesse took his hat back from Fareeha and plopped it on his own head. 

“Really good comeback, McCree,” Fareeha laughed. “You ready to go back to the wolves?”

“Yeah, probably should apologize for my earlier behavior, wasn’t right of me to do that in front of the new recruits,” Jesse sighed.

“You gonna apologize to Hanzo?”

“Fuck no! He deserved it,” Jesse threw his hands in the air.

“I wish I could have gotten in on the brawl,” Fareeha sighed.

“Nah, darlin’, imagine if it had been  _ your _ nose that he headbutted. I don’t want him to ruin your pretty face.”

“Wow, a gentleman,” Fareeha fake swooned, falling towards Jesse.

“My mama taught me to treat a lady right,” Jesse laughed, catching Fareeha as she fell, cracking up.

“Too bad she didn’t teach you not to get into fist fights.”

“She tried,” Jesse shrugged. “Guess I wasn’t that good a student.”

“Guess I didn’t learn from my mum either,” Fareeha said, laughter stopping. “She’d be pissed if she were alive to see me in Overwatch.”

“I think she’d be proud of you,” Jesse said softly. “She’d probably be pissed but secretly happy you’re following your heart.”

“Wow, being on the lam’s gotten you sentimental,” Fareeha said, elbowing Jesse.

Jesse shoved her, “shaddup, nerd.”

Fareeha shoved him back, “you’re the nerd here, nerd.”

“Whatever, let’s go get back to the center for do gooders.”

“I think Winston wanted to talk to you about the Blackwatch stuff,” Fareeha said, wrapping her arm around Jesse’s neck in a headlock. 

“Got here today and they’re already puttin’ me to work,” Jesse fake sighed.

“Don’t act like you’re not happy about it, Jesse McCree.”

“I want a vacation already.”

“You pouted every single time Reyes or Uncle Jack forced you to take a vacation.”

“Lots of things have changed since the golden days, now Jesse McCree loves vacations and doing as little work as possible.”

“Fareeha Amari thinks that Jesse McCree is full of bullshit.”

“Jesse McCree is hurt.”

“He’ll get over it,” Fareeha laughed.

Jesse snorted as Fareeha dragged him down the hall, back to the room where everybody was still hanging around. Hanzo was suspiciously absent, McCree noted smugly. 

“Not gonna attack anybody else?” Genji asked, looking up as Fareeha and Jesse entered the room.

“Anybody else here try to kill you?”

“Nah, I think we’re all good on that front.”

“Then we should be good,” Jesse laughed. “Didn’t get a chance to mention this before, but you’re very green, Genji.”

“Green makes my eyes really pop,” Genji replied. When nobody laughed he added, “the joke’s that I’m wearing a face plate. You can’t see my eyes.”

“Really landed that joke there, Genji,” Fareeha said, flopping down onto a chair. Genji flipped her off in response and she laughed.

“Congrats on the position,  _ Commander _ ,” Genji said to Jesse. “It’ll be nice working together with you again.”

“I’d say the same, but I’m not sure you’re  _ really _ the same Genji Shimada I used to know,” Jesse grinned. “There’s a lot less stabbing and more joking going on with you.”

“I’ve found peace,” Genji shrugged. “Found a way to leave my Hanzo phase behind me too.”

Jesse snorted, “now if only Hanzo could leave his Hanzo phase. Never seen somebody look so smug and haughty after gettin’ their ribs broke.”

“That’s my brother for you,” Genji sighed. “Zenyatta and I have been trying to help him, but his pride refuses to accept our help.”

“Zen-who-now?” Jesse asked.

“Zenyatta, my teacher,” Genji answered. “He’ll be joining us at some point, no clue when though.”

“Huh, sounds like a story you’ll need to tell me at some point,” McCree said. “But I think Winston needs to have a word with me.”

“Sure it’s not a ‘little chat’?” Genji asked.

“I ain’t gonna beat the shit out of Winston, so nah.”

“Thank heavens,” Winston chuckled, getting up. “I’m not sure if I’d be able to handle Jesse attacking me.”

“Winston, I’m pretty sure you could take me down easy,” Jesse said.

“I’d prefer not to,” Winston waved at Jesse to follow him as he went up to the second level of the Watchpoint where his computer was. Jesse followed slowly, hands in his pockets and eyes taking stock of what he saw around him. He decided that this part of the base is where Winston must have spent the majority of his time, while the rest of the base was rusting and in disuse, this part felt almost homely. There were stacks of papers everywhere and newspaper clippings on the wall, all of them seemingly dealing with Overwatch’s downfall and subsequent activities. 

Jesse decided that he’d come back later when people were asleep and look around. “So what caused you to activate the recall, Winston?” He asked casually.

“Are you familiar with The Reaper?” Winston replied.

“Familiar enough,” Jesse shrugged.

“Well, I had been waffling about it for ages, eventually my decision was pretty much made for me when a Talon squad broke in here, helmed by The Reaper,” Winston sighed. “With people like him out there, the world needs Overwatch more than ever.”

Jesse pursed his lips, “Talon’s pretty bad.”

Winston chortled, “that’s an understatement.” His face quickly got serious, “there’s something strange about him though.”

“How so?”

“It seemed that anything he got hit by barely phased him. I eventually took him down, but he just disappeared. I was analyzing his mask that he left behind to see if I could get a trace of any tech on it, but there was nothing.”

“Well that’s a conundrum. Think it’s nanites or something?”

“If it were nanites, I would have been able to pick them up on his mask. It’s something else, I just don’t know what it is yet,” Winston sighed.

“I’m sure that won’t be the last we see of him.”

“There was something familiar about him, too.”

Jesse’s eyebrows raised, “how do you mean?”

“I couldn’t tell you who, but just the way he carried himself reminded me of  _ somebody _ . I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure it out, but I’m drawing blanks.”

“Sure it’s not your big ol’ brain playin’ tricks on you?”

“No, no I’m certain that there’s a resemblance there. Have you seen him or have you just heard of him?” Winston situated himself on the tire in front of the computers.

“Had a run in with him,” Jesse answered, not lying exactly. “Lucky for you, I got out with my life.”

“Better than most could say,” Winston replied. “He had been targeting old Overwatch agents. Now he’s teamed up with Talon,” a deep sigh left his lips. “So now the problem’s even worse.”

“Thinkin’ of Overwatch agents, who all’s answered the recall?” Jesse asked, trying to move the conversation away from Gabriel before he said anything that could tie him and Gabriel together.

“A surprising amount,” Winston said, pulling up a database on his computer. “We’re sparse on people right now, but a fair amount of the old guard’s willing to come back and there’s been a surprising amount of interest from people who weren’t even part of us before.”

“Like the two kids there?”

“Yeah and Hanzo.”

Jesse groaned, “how could I forget him.”

Winston gave him a look, “are you sure you’ll be able to act professionally around him?”

“How do you mean? Blackwatch pretty much kept to their own before, is that changin’?”

“Hanzo’s going to be part of Blackwatch.”

Jesse looked at Winston in confusion, “you’re kiddin’, right?”

“Jesse, you’ve seen firsthand his skill hand-to-hand. You haven’t even seen him touch his bow yet, he’d be a valuable addition to Blackwatch, much more suited there than to Overwatch.”

“Now I’m thinkin’ that you’re just trying to get him out of Overwatch proper.”

“That too,” Winston laughed. “But he’s gonna be in Blackwatch.”

“Winston, we’re gonna need to get one thing straight here. Now that you’ve handed Blackwatch to me, I need to be in control of who goes into my team.”

“From here on out, you will be, but this was decided before you even answered the recall.”

Jesse ran a hand through his hair, sighing through his nose, “I’ll treat him just like I would any new recruit.”

“Are you gonna attack every new Blackwatch agent?”

“Be good experience for them,” Jesse grinned. “Nah, that’s a one-off thing, unless they start sassin’ me.”

“God help us all,” Winston laughed. “I’m gonna get you situated with a tablet and send over some information on Reaper along with some other people I’ve been keeping track of.”

“Like who?” Jesse asked, curious.

“Soldier: 76 mainly. He’s been targeting Helix and old Overwatch bases stealing tech and weapons. Nobody’s sure what he’s about, but I’m sure it can’t be good,” Winston said.

“I’ve heard of him,” Jesse said.

“I’m not surprised, I think he might be old Overwatch.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Just the way he carries himself, in some of the videos I’ll be sending you, his way of attacking is straight out of the Overwatch textbook.”

Jesse raised his eyebrows, he’d have to tell Jack to be less obvious. “Interesting, I’ll start analyzing videos to see if I can help figure out a pattern or anything for you.”

Winston grinned, “it’s good working with you again, McCree.”

Jesse saluted with two fingers and a grin, “pleasure’s all mine, Winston.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on twitter/tumblr/instagram @smalls2233


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A friend arrives and Jesse learns why Gabriel had enjoyed doing hand-to-hand assessments so damn much

Over the next week, Jesse had begun to fall into a routine. Both familiar faces and new faces had been trickling steadily into the Watchpoint daily. New faces meant new recruits for Blackwatch, so he, Genji, Winston, and Lena spent hours evaluating and sorting the recruits into either Overwatch or Blackwatch based on skillsets. 

It was decided that Blackwatch and Overwatch would need to work more hand-and-hand together than they had done in the past. Gabriel and Jack’s feud had made it easier for rogue elements to slip in (and according to the world: caused Gabriel to destroy the headquarters) and beak Overwatch apart. So more time was spent in meetings trying to figure out logistics and how things would operate.

Blackwatch still had plenty of its freedom, however. While Overwatch as a whole was now free from bureaucratic red tape and oversight, Jesse wanted to make sure that Blackwatch could continue to function covertly and mostly independently. They were given their own servers, their own databases, and any records of Blackwatch assets were removed from Overwatch’s proper records.

Despite the amount of time in meetings that he spent, Jesse still made sure to make time to train the new agents. He saw it both as a way to get out some of his excess energy and also to continue getting himself used to being around humans. The noise alone in the base was enough to send him to bed with a headache most nights, the addition of the smells made him nauseous.

More often than he would have liked, Jesse had to remove himself from a training session in order to force himself to calm down. He would dig his metal arm into his flesh until he bruised just so he could get a handle on himself before he shifted. 

And then, there was the Hanzo Shimada problem. Hanzo had recovered from his broken ribs with surprising swiftness, citing the use of biotic fields and staying relatively still for a couple of days, and so he quickly joined in on the training sessions. Jesse hated the way that Hanzo stared at him when he thought Jesse wasn’t looking. But Hanzo had managed to keep his mouth shut for the most part in training which Jesse had been grateful for.

And as much as Jesse didn’t want to admit it, Hanzo was damn good. His hand-to-hand skills were better than any of the other new agents, only Genji and Jesse could keep up with him, and his skill with the bow was even better. The first time he had seen Hanzo shoot his bow, Jesse was pretty sure his jaw hit the floor.

“Impressed, Cowboy?” Hanzo had asked, preening under the unwilling awe Jesse was showing him.

“I’d be more impressed if you’d keep your mouth shut,” Jesse retorted. “And I know you’re not familiar with how Blackwatch works quite yet, but I’m your commander and you’ll address me as such.”

Hanzo raised an eyebrow, “I’m sorry,  _ Commander _ .” Jesse huffed and stormed off to inspect the skills of the other agents’ weapon skills.

Hours later, Jesse was sitting on his couch, munching on a sandwich and talking with Genji. “I think he likes you,” Genji said suddenly.

“Who likes me?” Jesse asked, mouth still full of bread and meat.

“Hanzo,” Genji clarified.

Jesse choked on his sandwich, “Genji, are your circuits fried?”

Genji grinned, “Hanzo’s giving you more attention than he is anybody but me. I think he wants to be your friend.”

Jesse raised his eyebrows, “darlin’, I think that’s because I came here and immediately attacked him.”

“Give him a chance, he doesn’t have a lot of friends.”

“I wonder why that is,” Jesse snorted, going back to eating his sandwich.

Jesse tried to be less antagonistic with Hanzo after that, however. Not that Hanzo made it easy on him. For all of Genji’s words about Hanzo liking him, Jesse felt like Hanzo’s least favorite person. When they were outside of training, Hanzo would snipe at him and Jesse would attempt to not rise to the bait.

“The hell’s your problem, Shimada?” Jesse snapped one day.

“What do you mean?” Hanzo replied.

“I’m  _ tryin’ _ to be nice to you, but you’re makin’ that real damn hard.”

Hanzo sniffed in disdain, “I’m interested in seeing you growl at me again like an attack dog.”

Jesse looked at Hanzo with a look of confusion on his face, “you what now?”

“You growled at me when you attacked me that first day, I’m interested in seeing that again.”

“You’re a fuckin’ weirdo.”

Things were better at the end of the week when Angela finally made up her mind and arrived at the Watchpoint only a few scant hours after telling Fareeha and Jesse. Fareeha swooped Angela up in her arms when she got there, kissing her gently. Jesse lightly punched Fareeha’s shoulder and gave Angela a kiss on the forehead.

“Decide that you wanted to go back to savin’ the world?” He asked, grinning.

“I decided that I had to make sure you didn’t kill yourself,” Angela replied. “I heard about your fight on the first day.”

Jesse shrugged, “I had to keep up my Overwatch tradition -- break a few bones, get punched a bunch, and then work my way up the ladder in Blackwatch.”

Fareeha snorted, “didn’t think of it that way.”

Jesse winked, “it was obviously intentional.”

“I’m sure it was,” Angela rolled her eyes. “How’s your nose?”

“Crooked, but mostly healed,” Jesse shrugged. It had healed pretty quickly after he had set it, but he had sat down with biotic fields to keep up the impression that he was a normal human who healed at normal human rates.

“Do you want me to check up on it?” Angela asked.

“Nah, it’s all good, you should go get settled down in your room,” Jesse replied.

“I’ll be doing checkups on everybody soon, I can make room for you in spot number one.”

Jesse grinned, trying to make it look as normal as possible. He wasn’t sure how successful he was at that, “I should be good for now, Doc. Prioritize the others in front of me. Stick Hanzo with a real big needle or something right in his ass.”

“Real mature, Jesse,” Angela laughed.

“You know me, Doc, the most mature man in Blackwatch.”

Fareeha cocked an eyebrow, “you laughed when you sent in a report that was exactly sixty nine pages, Jesse. I’m not sure if that counts as mature.”

“It was hysterical.”

“Of course it was.”

“You laughed too when I told you!”

“My best friend and girlfriend are literal children,” Angela said, rolling her eyes.

“Don’t make me pull out my dirt on you, Z,” Jesse laughed.

“Want me to bring out more Drunk McCree stories?”

“Anything but that.”

Angela laughed, “I’ll bring them out later, I’m gonna go put my stuff down.”

“Works well for me, I gotta go assess the hand-to-hand of the new agents. I’ll break a couple wrists to keep you busy.”

“I’m so grateful,” Angela said dryly.

“Anything to keep you employed, Doc,” Jesse kissed her and Fareeha on their cheeks before heading to the locker room to change. Usually, he was the first one in there, he liked to prepare early before a sparring session to work out some of his strength and energy before taking on the humans.

To his surprise, Hanzo was mid change when he walked through the doors.

“You ever wear anything other than those boots?” Jesse asked, staring at the boots that were at odds with Hanzo’s athletic shorts.

Hanzo tugged on his shirt, “they’re what I would use in the field, so they’re what I use to train.”

“I’m gonna need you to switch out of them one day so we can get you to do some leg exercises,” Jesse said, beginning to strip so he could change.

“I don’t need to do leg exercises, I’m a sniper,” Hanzo replied.

“Darlin’, you’re gonna need to do whatever I tell you to do.”

Hanzo rolled his eyes, “whatever you say,  _ Commander _ .” He stormed off, grabbing his bow and quiver and Jesse cringed.

“The hell you’d do that for, Jesse McCree?” He asked himself. “You were close to havin’ a pleasant conversation with him and you ruined it.” He sighed as he finished changing. 

Jesse walked into the training room and situated himself in front of a punching bag. He rolled his shoulders and began with light, quick punches before moving into harder punches, and eventually, kicks. Before long, Jesse was sweating and his fist was pleasantly sore.

“You sure stare a lot,” Jesse said, feeling Hanzo’s eyes on him as he kneed the punching bag.

“You’re interesting,” was Hanzo’s response and Jesse heard the  _ thump _ as an arrow found its mark, Jesse could only assume that it was the bullseye.

“I’m told that a lot,” Jesse said, quick punches hammering home on the punching bag.

Hanzo snorted, “humble.”

“Like you’re one to talk, sweetheart.”

Several arrows were let loose before Hanzo replied, “I admittedly have more than my fair share of pride.”

“That why you tried to murder your brother?”

“I have made my amends in more ways than you know for that, Jesse McCree.”

“Apologizin’ to Genji ain’t how you make amends. You gotta do that by actions, and from what I’ve seen, you’re still an antagonistic pile of dirt.”

“I have done so much more than--” Hanzo cut himself off, inhaling sharply. “I joined Overwatch in order to make amends. I’m sure you’re familiar with that concept.”

“It took a long time for those around me to trust me,” Jesse said as he hammered the punching back.

“Then I hope one day I’ll earn your trust.”

“Bless your heart,” Jesse drawled.

“Bless my heart?” Hanzo was confused.

“It means Jesse thinks you’re an idiot, brother,” Genji said, walking into the training room. 

Jesse laughed, “remember how long it took you to figure that out, Genji?”

“I’m sorry English isn’t my first language, and that ‘Southern Asshole’ is not even in the first ten,” Genji shot back.

“Bless your--” Jesse was cut off by a shuriken being tossed his way. He plucked it out of the wall where it stuck. “You could have hurt me,” he laughed, playing with the weapon.

“You’ve got better reflexes than that,” Genji replied as Blackwatch agents began filtering into the room. Jesse tossed the shuriken back to Genji, who caught it easily, and leaned against the wall. Despite the sweat dripping down his forehead and soaking his shirt, he was the epitome of casual as he stared down the agents.

While Jesse had taken many of his ways to command Blackwatch straight from the playbook of Gabriel Reyes, he still led with a different air. Gabriel had been strict, unmovable, a military man through and through. Jesse was strict, but he led through a mask of grins and false casualness. Those who had come back from the golden days of Blackwatch knew not to push Jesse and the new agents had learned early on that Jesse was no fool, and took just about as much shit as Gabriel Reyes had -- that is to say, none at all.

“Afternoon, agents,” Jesse drawled. “Today I’m gonna assess your hand-to-hand skills personally.” For the past week he had been inspecting their weapons skills and instructing them with some basic sparring. With the basic sparring, they had mainly been sparring with each other, and occasionally Jesse would step in. “Who wants up first?”

An agent from the old days of Blackwatch, Jess Rivas, raised her hand, grinning. “It’s been years since I’ve gotten to spar with you, McCree, so I’ll get it done.”

“Aw, I’ve missed this,” Jesse said, squaring up as Jess walked forward. “The good ol’ Jesse v Jess showdowns.”

Jess’ grin widened as she rolled her shoulders. Jesse thought back about how he remembered Jess’ fighting style. She was quick, and what she lacked in size, she made up for in her ferocity.

“Watch and learn, agents,” Jesse said. “On Genji’s mark we’ll start.”

As soon as Genji snapped his fingers, Jess threw herself at Jesse. He barely managed to block her first lightning quick punches as she threw them. He threw a punch of his own that she dodged, and she swooped back in with a kick. Jesse grit his teeth as he took the kick to his thigh and grabbed her shoulders. Jess landed several punches on his stomach, making Jesse gasp for breath, but not let go as he wrapped her neck in a chokehold and brought her to the ground. She tried bucking him off, but he rested his entire weight on her until she slapped the mat a couple of times.

“Chalk one up for the commander,” McCree drawled, helping Jess up. “Who’s next?”

At his first break -- more to keep up the appearance of normalcy than because he was really that tired -- Jesse finally understood why Gabriel had enjoyed assessment days so much. As good as the humans were (and Blackwatch agents were the best) they were nothing compared to him. He could toss them around all day and be ready for more by the end. 

Jess plopped herself down next to him, chugging from a bottle of water, “you take any of that SEP juice, McCree?” She asked.

“Naw, just trained hard,” Jesse replied.

“Guess it’s a commander position thing then,” Jess laughed. “How have you been?”

“Busy,” Jesse said. “You’d think life outside of Blackwatch would have been a cakewalk compared to inside of it, but life’s hard when you sold nukes as a teenager.”

“Who’d have thought that?” Jess laughed. “Gotta say, I missed Blackwatch. Even if it’s different now, it’s like coming back home to family.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Jesse said, tapping his water bottle against Jess’ and taking a swig before hopping back up. “Alas, the time for reminiscin’ is over and I gotta get back to kickin’ ass.”

Jesse was almost finished with the agents’ assessments by the time he once again met his match in Hanzo Shimada. Hanzo was the second to last agent that Jesse needed to evaluate, and only raised his hand to volunteer to spar with Jesse after a harsh look from Genji.

“I’d appreciate it if you leave my ribs intact this time,” Hanzo said dryly, sizing up Jesse.

Jesse raised his eyebrows, “I’ll see what I can do, Sweetheart.” He had learned from his last fight with Hanzo, and immediately went for his legs as soon as Genji snapped his fingers.

Hanzo leaped back before Jesse could sweep his legs out from under him and moved in with a few quick punches that Jesse blocked. Jesse elbowed him in the ribs, earning a gasp of pain as he hit the still tender spot, and Hanzo kneed him in the stomach.

Jesse clutched his stomach, gasping for breath and Hanzo landed a few more punches. Jesse swung with his prosthetic arm and landed a firm punch on Hanzo’s shoulder, sending him reeling back. Jesse followed this up with a few swift punches and kicks, trying to upset Hanzo’s balance further and send him falling.

Hanzo charged at Jesse and rammed his shoulder into Jesse’s chest, driving the air from his lungs. Before Jesse knew it, he was on the floor, beneath an incredibly smug Hanzo Shimada.

“I was hoping that I’d get you snarling again,” Hanzo said.

“And I was hopin’ that you’d take victory with grace, but apparently we’re both left high and dry,” Jesse retorted. “Agent Reis, are you ready to see if you can take me down?” He barked at the last remaining agent.

“Of course, sir,” Reis replied, bolting up.

“Agent Shimada, I’d appreciate it if you would get off of me so I can finish these evaluations,” McCree’s tone was cold and professional. 

Hanzo raised his eyebrows, “of course, Commander.” He got off of Jesse and walked off, looking like the cat who caught the canary. 

Reis went down easy, he was thin and lanky, chosen more for his ability with computers than his combat skills. All it took was a couple swift punches to the side for Reis to let his guard down enough and Jesse to sweep his legs out from under him.

“Y’all did well today,” Jesse said, helping Reis up. “I’ll be working with Genji in order to assign you to teams. You will live for your team, and you will, if needed, die for your team. If you have any problems with your assignments, come to me and we’ll try to sort it out. Dismissed.”

“Wow, channel Reyes any harder there and Gibraltar will crash down around us,” Genji clasped Jesse’s shoulder.

“Traitor or not, he had some good leadership techniques,” Jesse said.

Genji laughed, “it looks like you’re applying them well, hopefully I’ll be as good a second as you were.”

“Well, if I start becoming a psychopath, stop me,” Jesse said, mentally apologizing to Gabriel.

“You got it, Boss. I’m also going to step in and tell you to get a shower,” he patted Jesse on the back. “That’s the thing I don’t miss about being fully human, only a small amount left to get sweaty.”

“I’m jealous,” Jesse laughed. “I’d gladly donate some of my sweat glands to you.”

“That’s a gift I’d have to refuse,” Genji said. “Now git, as you’d say.”

“I’m gittin’, I’m gittin’,” Jesse held his hands up in surrender. He snapped his clothes up from the locker room before headed back to his own room to take a private shower. That’s one thing he appreciated about being the commander for Blackwatch -- no longer was he forced to use communal showers.

On his way back to his room, he passed Fareeha. “Howdy,” he said, tipping an imaginary hat.

“You’re sweaty, don’t touch me,” Fareeha replied.

“Now ain’t that mean,” Jesse laughed. “Where are you headed to?”

“I’m gonna go hang out around Angela in the infirmary, see if she needs any help.”

“How sweet of you,” Jesse said. “Sorry in advance for any Blackwatch agents that come in with bruises.”

“How many did you beat up?”

“All of them but Hanzo,” Jesse sighed regretfully. “He managed to bowl me over.”

Fareeha snorted, “there’s always one you can’t beat. Now I’d love to stay and chat, but you stink.”

“That’s mean!” Jesse called after her, chuckling. “See you and Angie for dinner?” He asked.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Fareeha replied, shooting him a thumbs up.

Jesse grinned the entire way back to his room. His grin stretched even wider while he chatted with Gabriel on the phone, taking a shower. He felt good about the day, despite Hanzo, and Gabriel gave him pointers on how to more effectively lead and listened to his ideas about how he would lay out the teams.

“As weird as this sounds, I can’t wait for the full moon,” Jesse said, toweling off. 

“It’ll be nice to see you again, my bed’s so lonely without you. I got spoiled those months you were here,” Gabriel sighed.

“Aw darlin’, you care about me,” Jesse laughed.

“I’ve been known to care about people every once in awhile,” Gabriel said dryly. “How’s the adjustment been, any better?”

“Managed to get through the assessments without wolfing out or vomiting, so yeah I think it’s starting to go on the up,” Jesse replied, flopping down on his bed.

“That’s good,” Gabriel said. “Anybody suspecting anything?”

“I don’t think so,” Jesse shrugged. “Hanzo looks at me funny but I think that’s just because he’s a dick.”

“Be careful around him.”

“Believe me, darlin’, I know that. I trust him about as far as I can throw him.”

“Keep me updated on him,” Gabriel said. “I gotta go, but I’ll send you some info on Talon’s current plans so you can figure out a way to work around them.

“Sounds good, love you.”

“Love you too,” Gabriel hung up and Jesse stared at his wall for a moment before forcing himself up and getting dressed so he could meet with Genji to decide how to sort out the teams. Despite the stress of keeping secrets and the whole Hanzo issue, Jesse felt happier than he had in ages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow me on twitter/tumblr/instagram @smalls2233


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The full moon draws near, and Jesse is confronted with many unfortunate truths.

As the full moon drew near, the noises and smells in the base became almost unbearable. Eating in the mess was impossible, and so he’d end up grabbing food and scrambling back to his room before he vomited, overstimulated. Training was near painful as well, he was distracted and ended up missing easy shots.

“Are you okay, Jesse?” Angela asked, concerned as she wrapped his wrist. He had sprained it with a bad punch on the punching bag after getting startled.

“Never better,” Jesse said, aiming for casual.

Angela knit her eyebrows together, “Jesse don’t lie to me.”

“I ain’t lying,” Jesse lied.

“You sure about that? Athena has been monitoring everybody’s vitals for me, and your heart rate has been through the roof for the past couple of days and your temperature has been several degrees above normal since you’ve gotten here.”

“Don’t worry about me, Angela, I’m fine,” Jesse said.

“It’s my job to worry about you,” Angela rolled her eyes. “You still haven’t gotten your checkup either.”

“I’ll get it at some point,” Jesse waved her off. “I gotta get back to training, though.”

“Jesse, as your doctor, I’m telling you to lay off of the training until your wrist heals and whatever’s going on with you settles down.”

Jesse sighed, “I’ll just watch the session, if that makes you happy, Doc.”

“What would make me happy is if you’d tell me what’s wrong. These vitals are abnormal, Jesse.”

“I’m an abnormality, Angie,” Jesse kissed Angela on the cheek. “I was thinkin’ of taking a day or two off, though.”

Angela raised her eyebrows, “you’re willingly taking a break? Who are you and what have you done with the real Jesse McCree?”

“In my years on the lam, I gained an appreciation for not working,” Jesse laughed. “But seriously, it might help me shake off this bug, and I want to see my boyfriend.”

“I can’t say no to that, I’ll put you down for a medical break, when do you need it?”

Jesse mentally counted the days down until the full moon, “give me like three days off in two days.”

Angela typed it out on her tablet, “do you want me to forward this to anyone besides Winston?

“Yeah, send it to Genji. I’ll go let him know in person too after this training session.”

“I swear to God, Jesse, if I hear that you took part in training in any way beyond watching and giving orders, I’m putting you on bed rest.”

“For a sprained wrist?”

“For whatever bug it is that you have that you won’t let me test you for.”

“It’s fine, Angie, I promise.”

It was not fine. The training session went without incident, Jesse stayed true to his word and simply observed. But shortly afterwards, Jesse was bent over his toilet, vomiting his guts up. The smells and noises had overpowered him and made him violently ill.

When he finally was over his vomiting, Jesse rinsed his mouth out and stumbled back to his bed. “Athena,” he said, pulling out his tablet.

“Yes, Commander McCree?” Athena’s modular voice responded.

“Do me a favor and stop monitorin’ my vitals.”

“That would be unadvised.”

“I’m advising you to do it.”

“Understood, I’ll stop monitoring your vitals.”

“Thank you, darlin’, that’s all,” Jesse said, switching his tablet off and trying to will himself to sleep.

The following two days were torture, and though Jesse didn’t vomit again, his head pounded. He spent the minimum time necessary outside of his room, and spent the remainder of the time hunched up in bed, trying to block out the noises and smells of the base. It was torture, and he was snappish at anybody who tried getting near him. 

“You look like shit,” Hanzo said to him, the day before Jesse got to leave, as Jesse stumbled towards the mess hall.

“I’m not in the mood for this, Shimada,” Jesse ground out.

“Interesting time for you to get sick,” Hanzo continued on, eyeing Jesse down.

“Might wanna back off, don’t want to get you sick.”

“I have a good immune system.”

Jesse bit back a snarl, digging his nails into the flesh of his hand to try to quell his annoyance. It didn’t help, as he felt the digging pressure of claws instead of close clipped nails. “I’m not playing this game today,” he said, brushing past Hanzo, heading back to his room.

“What’s that western fairy tale?” Hanzo asked calmly, trailing behind Jesse. “Red Riding Hood, I believe?”

“Not in the mood.”

“Who’s the villain in it again?”

A cold shiver went down Jesse’s spine. “Get to the mess hall, Shimada,” he ground out.

“What big teeth you have, Commander,” Hanzo ignored him.

Jesse couldn’t contain his snarl as he spun around and pinned Hanzo to the wall. “Come with me, and  _ shut your fuckin’ mouth _ ,” he growled, eyes narrowed into thin slits.

A self satisfied grin rested on Hanzo’s face, and Jesse wanted to rip it off of him. “Of course,” he pried Jesse off of him with ease.

“What do you know?” Jesse spat when he threw Hanzo into his room, locking the door behind them.

“You reek like a dog.”

“I’m not in the mood for games, Shimada. What do you want?”

“You’re a werewolf,” Hanzo said simply.

Jesse let out a ragged breath, “I think you’re crazy. Werewolves don’t exist.”

Hanzo barked out a sharp laugh, “I think you’re a liar.”

Jesse felt his claws digging deep gouges into the flesh of his palm. “If you tell anyone  _ anything _ about this, what you did to Genji will look kind,” he spat.

“I wasn’t planning on telling anybody,” Hanzo replied, calmly sitting down on Jesse’s couch.

“Then what’s the point of this?”

“I’m a demon.”

Jesse looked at Hanzo blankly, “what?”

Hanzo rolled his eyes, “is my accent that hard to understand, or are you deaf? I’m a demon.”

“I heard you, but I’m havin’ a hard time believing this.”

“Maybe this would make it easier on you,” Hanzo replied, snapping his fingers. A bright flash of blue-white fire surrounded him, making Jesse squint, before reshaping into a different form than before. Large, curving horns sprouted from Hanzo’s forehead and his eyes were liquid fire, the same blazing blue-white of the fire that surrounded him as he transformed. His skin was the same slate gray of Sombra’s, intermixed with scales of varying colors forming almost tattoo-like designs. He had a long, serpentine tail and instead of feet, paws.

Jesse looked at Hanzo blankly, rage forgotten in his surprise. His jaw worked as he tried to find the words to say. Eventually he got out, “is Genji a demon as well?”

“Genj is hu--” Hanzo cut himself off. “Genji is not part of our world.”

“So then why are you a demon?”

“To repent for what I had done to my brother,” Hanzo said. “After striking Genji down, I realized that I was a monster, I killed my brother in cold blood.” He uncapped his flask of sake and took a long drink. “No matter how much I could try to justify it to myself, to say that it was for the good of the Shimada-gumi, I could not shake the feeling of his blood on my hands.”

Jesse said nothing, just sat down on a chair to let Hanzo continue on. “I decided that to truly repent for what I had done, I must become a monster. The Shimada-gumi has deep ties to the supernatural community, though Genji was never made aware of that. As the heir, I was exposed to it at a young age.” Hanzo was silent for a moment, clawed fingers tapping on the outside of his flask. “I have given up everything in order to make up for my past mistakes, Jesse McCree.”

“I’m not sure becomin’ a demon absolves you of the past,” Jesse slowly said after a moment. “Even after all I did for Blackwatch, I will never make up for what I had done in the past.”

“I’m trying,” Hanzo sounded tired, for the first time Jesse was able to see past his haughty mask, revealing a sad, broken man. “I will try every day for the rest of my life to make up for what I did.”

Jesse exhaled softly, “it’d work better if you stopped pushin’ everyone away.” As much as he hated to admit it, he was reminded of himself, fresh out of Deadlock, when he looked at Hanzo. 

“I don’t need to take lessons from you,” Hanzo snapped. “I am on my own path to redemption, I don’t need  _ your _ assistance.”

Jesse barked out a bitter laugh, “you sure about that, Sweetheart? Because to me it sounds like you  _ really _ need my help. You’re content to mope about, making everybody around you miserable. Is that redemption or is that you giving up?”

The flames in Hanzo’s eyes flashed and the tip of his tail twitched. “I am trying my hardest.”

“Whatever you say,” Jesse rolled his eyes. “I’ve played this game in the past, and I can promise you that redemption ain’t as easy as saying you’ve tried your best.”

“I have given up so much trying to make up for my past,” Hanzo hissed.

“Does me being a werewolf suddenly mean I didn’t traffic nukes as a kid? Or murder people ‘cause they said the wrong thing about Deadlock?” Jesse laughed, it was a cold sound. “Because whew- _ wee _ would that make me sleep a whole heck of a lot better at night. We’ve all given things up, darlin’, and it means about jack shit unless you do the actions to back it up.”

Hanzo scowled, “I don’t need you to tell me about mistakes in the past.”

“Well look how the fuckin’ tables have turned, Hanzo. Do you not like it when somebody who’s fucked up as well tells you that there’s no easy way to redeem yourself?” Jesse folded his arms in front of his chest. “Just becoming a demon doesn’t mean that suddenly you’re a golden child, and just because Genji says that he’s forgiven you doesn’t mean that what you did is now okay.”

Hanzo stood up, “I’m finished with this conversation.”

Jesse laughed sharply, “are you just gonna run away from this, Hanzo?”

“I’m leaving because you’re useless,” Hanzo snapped.

“Of course I am,” Jesse rolled his eyes. “You sure it’s not just because you don’t like hearin’ the truth?”

Hanzo shifted in a flash of flames, reappearing in his human form. “I am on my own road to redemption. It’s a road I walk myself.”

“Of course it is,” Jesse scoffed. “Now remember, if you breathe a single world to anybody about my peculiar situation, you’re finished.”

“Goodbye, werewolf,” Hanzo sneered, mask of haughty smugness placed back on his face firmer than ever. Jesse refrained from throwing something at Hanzo when he left, instead he just grabbed a pillow and screamed into it.

At least, the following day, Jesse was able to leave the confines of Gibraltar. It was the day before the full moon, and Jesse’s anxiety levels were through the roof. He knew he still had a day before the moon forced him to shift, but after his run-in with Hanzo, keeping hold of his human form was a struggle.

“Tell your mystery boyfriend I say hi,” Angela said, hugging Jesse as he stood at the edge of the Watchpoint.

“I’ll send him your love,” Jesse laughed, kissing her on the cheek. “Maybe I’ll come back freshly shaven for you and Fareeha.”

“It’d be a miracle,” Angela laughed. “If your symptoms get any worse, call me immediately.”

Jesse knew Angela was still suspicious, but had nothing to put her suspicions on. All Jesse could hope for was that Hanzo would keep quiet about Jesse’s secret. “You’ll be my first call if anything goes wrong. I’ll see you in a couple of days,” he winked, hopping onto a hovercycle.

He had set up a meeting place with Sombra at a motel about an hour and a half away from the Watchpoint. Realistically, he could have had her pick her up from even within the Watchpoint, but that would have been too suspicious.

The emptiness of the road was another benefit. No longer was Jesse confined in the Watchpoint, where even outside the smells and of the humans overpowered the salty spray of the sea. He was surrounded only the smells of the wind, and the lingering scent of hover-vehicles that had crossed the highway before him. It was peaceful, he always enjoyed driving, any of his old squadmates hated being driven around by him -- he had a bad habit of taking the speed limit and adding twenty to it, and then going five above that, and was a firm believer in the idea of the driver picks the music, leading to more banjos and fiddles than anyone but him could handle.

By the time he arrived at the shitty motel, Jesse felt calmer than he had in days. The full moon was still wreaking havoc on his emotions and senses, but he didn’t feel like he was about to transform at the slightest provocation.

“I’m here, Sombra,” McCree said, sliding the communicator into his ear.

“Hello to you too, Jesse,” Sombra replied immediately. “Oh wait, I take that back, you didn’t say hey to me.”

“Hey, Sombra, wanna gossip about boys?” Jesse laughed.

“ _ Oh my god _ , do I!” Sombra cackled. “You outside or do you wanna head up to the room I rented? We can watch a movie and have a sleepover before you see ol’ grumpy grump.”

“As great as that sounds,” Jesse said. “I think I should head back asap so there’s no potential of me hurting anybody. Got some important info to relay to Gabriel too.”

“What is it?” Sombra was intrigued.

“Turns out Hanzo Shimada’s a fuckin’ demon.”

“One of the yakuza boys?” Sombra appeared in front of Jesse in a burst of light.

Jesse jumped about ten feet in the air, “Jesus, Sombra, fuckin’ warn a man next time.”

“Where would the fun be if I did that?” She laughed.

“The fun would be that you won’t give me a heart attack.”

“Heart attacks won’t kill you, idiot, now grab my hand and walk with me.”

Jesse chuckled as he enveloped Sombra’s hand with his own and they stepped forward into swirling light. Unlike the first time travelling this way with Sombra, Jesse didn’t immediately vomit when they appeared at the old Watchpoint that Jack, Gabe, and Ana had taken over. It didn’t mean he wasn’t nauseous as hell, though, and he had to swallow hard to make sure he didn’t get ill.

“I’ll be back for you in two days,” Sombra said, before vanishing into light with a wink and cheshire grin. 

“God help us all,” Jesse said to himself, keying in the code to enter the Watchpoint. He nearly cried at the familiar, comforting scents surrounding him. They were such a relief compared to the mess of human scents that surrounded him at Gibraltar. He followed his nose to where the freshest scents were, and found Gabriel napping on a couch, tablet still on, laying next to him. Jesse locked the tablet and sat down next to the couch, resting his head on Gabriel’s arm.

“Hey, babe,” Gabriel said sleepily, opening an eye.

“Missed you,” Jesse replied. “Where’s Jack and Ana?”

“Ana’s out doing recon, I think Jack didn’t want to be here for when you first came back, give us some time alone, so courteous.”

Jesse snorted, “I think he wants to wait for us to tire each other out.”

“Probably,” Gabriel laughed. “Like that’ll ever happen.” He sat up on the couch and Jesse jumped up next to him, laying down and resting his head on Gabriel’s lap.

“God you smell good,” Jesse breathed. “Been tired of smelling humans and Hanzo around me. Been making me sick.”

“Why’s Hanzo not included with the humans?” Gabriel asked.

“Turns out he’s a demon.”

Gabriel swore, “jesus, when’d you figure that out?”

“Asshole cornered me yesterday. I don’t know why exactly he told me, any advice I tried to give him was ignored.”

“Sounds like you,” Gabriel murmured, carding his hands through Jesse’s hair.

“Be nice if he’d pay attention to what I say, then,” Jesse said, burying his nose in Gabriel’s shirt. 

Gabriel chuckled, “now you know what I went through when I picked your skinny ass up out of Deadlock.”

“I was a piece of shit,” Jesse laughed. “But now I have a beautiful personality, and you get to deal with it for the rest of eternity.”

“Know what else is beautiful about you?” Gabriel asked.

“My smile.”

“I was gonna say your ass, but yeah that works too,” Gabriel grinned.

“How romantic, I’m swooning,” Jesse said dryly. “Your boner’s ruining my comfortable pillow, by the way. I’m back for not even five minutes and you’re already hard.”

Gabriel rolled his hips, “can you really blame me, Jesse? It’s been weeks since I’ve seen you.”

Jesse grinned, “if you put it that way, guess I can’t.” He rubbed his cheek against Gabriel’s erection, causing Gabriel to groan and tighten his grip in Jesse’s hair. 

“Are you gonna tease me, or are you gonna suck me off?” Gabriel asked.

Jesse decided to put his earlier advice to Hanzo of letting his actions speak for themselves into practice, got down on his knees in front of Gabriel, and freed Gabriel’s cock from the confines of pants.

Gabriel made a pleased noise when Jesse began to slowly stroke him to full hardness before slowly wrapping his lips around Gabriel’s cock, maintaining eye contact as he did so. He swallowed hard around the thick length and Gabriel bucked, almost unconsciously, into his throat. 

Jesse gagged around Gabriel’s cock and felt tears begin to well in his eyes, but he kept at it, swallowing around Gabriel’s length and running his tongue on the underside of the cock. Gabriel hummed his pleasure and murmured praise.

Desperate for more praise, Jesse redoubled his efforts, gagging as he bottomed out and pulling back until only the very tip of the cock was still in his mouth. Gabriel’s hands were gentle in his hair as he did this, stroking and tugging lightly.

Gabriel came with a strangled moan of Jesse’s name, bucking up into the wet heat of his mouth. Jesse stayed put and swallowed it all, fingers digging deep into Gabriel’s thighs. When Gabriel was mostly soft, Jesse pulled off and was brought in for a kiss by Gabe. “Take off your pants,” Gabriel murmured into Jesse’s mouth, and Jesse wasn’t sure if he had ever followed an order quicker than that in his life.

Gabriel watched Jesse strip with a lazy gaze. “Straddle me, McCree,” he ordered softly. A shuddering breath left Jesse’s mouth, the easy control that Gabriel had over every situation just did things to him. Especially when Gabriel was lounged out on the couch like a king on his throne, still completely dressed except for his cock hanging out of his pants. Jesse wanted to worship him, show his devotion in all ways possible.

“Darlin’, you know I can’t refuse you,” Jesse said breathlessly as he straddled Gabriel’s thighs. Gabriel planted kisses on Jesse’s collarbones as he fumbled with a foil packet of lube, slicking up his fingers before he slowly circled Jesse’s hole, coaxing a breathless groan from McCree.

“Don’t tease me,” Jesse said, bucking up against Gabriel’s fingers.

“It’s how I get my fun though,” Gabriel grinned, sliding one lubed up finger into McCree. “You always have such a beautifully needy look on your face when I do it.” One of his hands held onto Jesse’s hip firmly, rubbing circles in the skin with his thumb. 

Jesse nipped at his ear, “you’re gonna -- ah -- be the death of me.”

“You love every second of it,” Gabriel said, sliding in a second finger, loving the way that Jesse relaxed around him. His kisses turned to light nips, sharp teeth barely piercing Jesse’s skin.

Each nip had Jesse tensing and relaxing around his fingers, and Gabriel was content to make Jesse come like this. When he just barely brushed up against Jesse’s prostate, a needy keen left Jesse’s mouth. Gabriel’s grin stretched wider as he continued to tease Jesse. “I learned a new trick,” he said eventually.

“Oh?” Jesse asked, grip iron tight on Gabriel’s shoulders.

“Yeah, kiss me and find out,” Gabriel said. When Jesse came in for a kiss, Gabriel gently nipped at his lips before bringing their mouths together and breathing dark, heavy smoke down into Jesse’s lungs.

Jesse’s breaths were shallower and he felt slightly fuzzy-headed when he looked to Gabriel, “what’s that about?” He asked.

“Just wait, when I was changed this was done to me,” Gabriel responded, sliding in a third finger.

“Oh,” Jesse’s eyes went wide and a keening groan left his mouth. He felt like he had been hit by a lesser dose of Jack’s venom.

“Was practicing around on Jack with it,” Gabriel stroked Jesse’s prostate briefly and Jesse groaned. “What do you think?” He continued to lightly stroke at Jesse’s prostate and nipping at his collarbone.

Jesse’s response was a gasp as he came hard, splattering his stomach and Gabriel’s shirt with his cum.

“That good?” Gabriel grinned, pulling out his fingers.

“You’re filled with great surprises,” Jesse panted, legs feeling like jello, the only reason he hadn’t collapsed was Gabriel’s firm grip on his hip. The smoke in his lungs made it difficult for him to get full breaths. “The smoke’s a nice touch, don’t know if I’ll be able to smoke without thinking of you now, though.”

“You found out my evil plan,” Gabriel chuckled. “To get you to quit smoking by giving you a boner when you puff on a cigarillo.” He stroked Jesse’s back gently, “do you think you can ride my cock, or do you want to have me fuck you?”

“Give me a sec and I’ll be able to ride you, honey,” Jesse replied, planting kisses on Gabriel’s beard. His erection had hardly flagged after he came, no doubt in thanks to the smoke Gabriel had breathed into him.

After a few moments of rest, Jesse’s legs were finally able to support himself. Gabriel let go of them and slicked up his once again hard cock. When they were both ready, Jesse slowly slid down Gabriel’s cock, eyes closed and enjoying the stretch.

“You look so beautiful,” Gabriel said, stroking Jesse’s flushed cheek with a hand, the other resting around Jesse’s waist. Jesse groaned out a reply as he fucked himself on Gabriel’s dick. Gabriel thrust lazily, mostly content to let Jesse set the pace.

Before long, Jesse was gasping for breath. The smoke taking up just enough space in his lungs to allow him to draw barely enough breath. He relished the feeling, along with the stretch of Gabriel’s dick in his ass. 

When Gabriel’s hand on Jesse’s waist moved to his cock, Jesse let out a strangled cry. “You okay, Jesse?” Gabriel asked.

“Peachy keen,” Jesse replied breathlessly. “It’s just intense is all.” He was starting to piece together the differences between Jack’s venom and Gabriel’s smoke. While the venom would increase his libido and overall increase his sex drive, making it hard to focus on anything but sex and pleasure and made him more sensitive, the sensitivity didn’t come close to what Gabriel’s smoke did to him. His entire body felt like the sensitivity setting had been ramped up to eleven. While Gabriel’s hand on his cock wasn’t painful, it was almost too stimulating.

Gabriel took no pity on his dick, just continued to softly stroke at it, thumbing the slit and tracing the veins. Jesse could only make soft “ah, ah” noises as Gabriel did this, the stimulation leaving him beyond words.

It quickly became too much for him to take, and he came hard, nearly screaming Gabriel’s name. Gabriel came quickly after, thrusting softly and biting down hard on Jesse’s collarbone to silence his moans.

Gabriel snapped and the smoke vanished from Jesse’s lungs, and he took huge, gulping breaths. “Shit, Gabe,” Jesse panted, pulling off of Gabriel’s cock. “When’d you learn that trick?”

“Jack and I have been messing around with type of stuff, seeing what we can weaponize,” Gabriel said. “He and Ana have been inspecting the venom to see if they can figure out how it works and how long the effects last when it’s out of his body.”

Jesse raised an eyebrow, “how are they figurin’ that out?”

Gabriel grinned, “Jack injected himself with it. Claimed he didn’t want to subject Ana to it, and refused to inject me with it, for obvious reasons.”

“I think he just wanted to try it out,” Jesse laughed.

“Same, anyway, that made me think about how I was turned. The demon who turned me, Sidonai, used this smoke and since I was turned by them, I figured that I could do something similar.”

“You try it out on Jack?”

“Of course.”

“All the good stuff happens without me,” Jesse groaned, flopping down on the couch, feeling sticky cum leak out of his ass.

“We’ve got a couple days to keep busy,” Gabriel grinned.

“Hell yeah we do, boss. Probably should get business out of the way, though, because you won’t believe the shit I have to tell you.”

Gabriel cocked an eyebrow, “oh?”

“Yeah, lemme pull out my tablet and I’ll fill you in on the details,” Jesse pulled out a tablet that Sombra had given him that he had transferred all of his Overwatch and Blackwatch files to and began to fill Gabriel out on everything. Despite Gabriel’s dick still hanging out and Jesse’s, well, everything hanging out, they quickly shifted to business as they discussed potential problems within Overwatch, Hanzo Shimada, and how best to combat Talon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> apparently updating twice in one day is a reasonable thing to do lol  
> Btw, if y'all are interested in seeing hanzo's demon form & some general designs for the other supernaturals, here's a link to an imgur gallery w those two things haha[ link ](http://m.imgur.com/a/3zjUZ)  
> \--  
> Follow me on tumblr/twitter/instagram @smalls2233


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The full moon finally hits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this gets a bit furry lol so if you're not into that, just skip the sex scene in this chapter it's (probably) gonna be the only one like it in this fic

For the first time in months, the day of the full moon was much easier for Jesse to handle than the days leading up to it. He felt strangely calm, compared to how he had felt. The old Watchpoint was near silent, only the soft hum of technology and the noises of Gabriel typing away at a computer were there. There was no barrage of voices, no unfamiliar scents, and Jesse found himself able to breathe easy again. He was also able to shift between forms as he wanted. That eased some of the stress and struggles of the forced shift. Overall, it was a welcome break that he needed.

“What are you workin’ on?” Jesse asked, resting his chin on the top of Gabriel’s head, shifted into his animalistic form.

“Sombra sent me some info she pulled from a Talon database,” Gabriel replied, not looking up. “It’s detailing a lot of the experiments they’ve been doing.”

“What types?”

“How to manually force a turn to a supernatural and then controlling them afterwards,” Gabriel sighed. “It’s fucking brutal what they’ve done.”

“Could you send it my way? I’ll take a look at it, see if I can find anything useful.”

“Yeah, I can do that,” Gabriel drew in a breath before continuing. “It explains what they did to Amelie Lacroix.”

Jesse swore, “they forced her into a change?”

“Yeah, along with reconditioning,” Gabriel grit his teeth. “They don’t specify what they did, I think she’s some sort of amalgam. It’s disgusting.”

“Be safe, Gabe,” Jesse wrapped his arms tighter around Gabriel’s shoulders.

“I’ll be fine, it’s just like a long Blackwatch sting, we did them all the time back in the day,” Gabriel said, relaxing into Jesse’s grip.

“Feels like I’m doin’ a Blackwatch sting within Blackwatch these days,” Jesse laughed. “It ain’t like I’m working against them, but _fuck_ do I have to keep a lot of shit secret.”

“Yeah, it's miserable, isn't it?”

“Mm,” Jesse hummed in response, moving to sit down next to Gabriel. “Give me your arm.”

“I really need to get you a chew toy or something,” Gabriel laughed, holding out his arm as Jesse started to lightly gnaw on it.

“Why would I want that when your arm is so nice to chew on?” Jesse asked. About two months after his first shift, Jesse started getting overcome by the need to bite onto things during the full moon. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but he figured it was something to do with a primal instinct to make more werewolves.

“It’d be a lot easier to get work done if you weren’t chewing on my arm,” Gabriel replied, typing a message one-handed to Sombra. “I wouldn’t get your nasty slobber all over my arm either.”

“You know you love it,” Jesse said around the arm in his mouth.

Gabriel winced in pain as Jesse’s teeth broke skin, “I feel like I have a teething puppy on my arm.”

“You could always just take your arm out of my mouth.”

“You’d start chewing on my neck again.”

Jesse’s tail thumped lazily on the couch, “ _oh no_ , I wonder what it’s like to have somebody obsessively biting on your neck. Your stupid sharp teeth have _never_ chewed on my neck before.”

“You’re the worst,” Gabriel laughed, putting his phone and tablet aside so he could scratch at Jesse’s head.

“You’re the one who made the mistake of fallin’ in love with me,” Jesse’s tail beat faster at the sensation of Gabriel’s sharp nails gently scratching at his skin.

“Yeah, it was a pretty bad lapse in judgement,” Gabriel grinned.

Jesse paused his gnawing for a moment, “do you think there’d be any way for me to update my prosthetic so I’d be less lopsided like this?”

Gabriel pursed his lips, “not that I could make.”

“That’s what I figured,” Jesse sighed, bringing Gabriel’s hand to his mouth and chewing on a finger.

“Stick to the arm, babe,” Gabriel winced, pulling his finger from Jesse’s mouth.

“Sorry, Darlin’,” Jesse apologized, licking a stripe up Gabriel’s cheek.

Gabriel shuddered, “that’s disgusting.” He pushed Jesse off of him and Jesse fell off of the couch, dragging Gabriel down with him. The two tussled around, biting, clawing, and kicking in a fight for dominance.

A playful growl left Jesse’s mouth as he pinned Gabriel down, teeth wrapped around his neck. “Give up, old man?” He asked.

Gabriel pried Jesse’s jaws off of him and ripped his head back. “Focus more on keeping me down and less on talking, McCree.”

Jesse whined, a high pitched noise, as he tried to rip his mouth free of Gabriel’s grip. He punched hard onto Gabriel’s stomach and violently shook his head from side to side, but Gabriel held firm.

“Give up, pup?” Gabriel grinned.

Jesse decided it was time for a last ditch effort and he bit down hard on Gabriel’s fingers. Gabriel yelped in pain and ripped his hands from Jesse’s mouth and Jesse flipped him over, wrapping his mouth around the back of Gabriel’s neck and pinning his hands above his head.

Gabriel disappeared in a puff of smoke and Jesse fell to the ground, disoriented. “Will that ever not surprise you?” Gabriel asked as he reformed and tackled Jesse. Jesse tried to buck him off, but Gabriel grabbed the scruff of his neck and pulled hard until Jesse stopped squirming.

“I give, I give,” Jesse said, slapping the floor. Gabriel immediately leaped up and offered Jesse a hand which Jesse grabbed.

“Ugh, I’m covered in your drool,” Gabriel groaned, rubbing at his neck.

Jesse laughed and licked long stripes against Gabriel’s face, “just means you’re mine.”

“Babe, we knew that without your gross werewolf drool getting all over me.”

“Romantic,” Jack said dryly, walking into the room.

“Hey, Jack,” Jesse greeted, tongue still hanging out of his mouth from licking Gabriel. “How’d your mission go?”

“It went well,” Jack replied, pulling up a chair and sitting down. “Killed some bad guys, stole some tech, overall a good week long mission.”

“Sounds better than dealing with Hanzo,” Jesse sighed. “Gabe fill you in on that?”

“Just the bare minimum,” Jack said. “He’s a demon and knows you’re a werewolf, that’s about all Gabe had time to tell me. Do you think he’s gonna spill your secret out?”

“I don’t think so,” Jesse said. “Nobody’s gonna believe that I’m a werewolf without proof, and Hanzo’d have to risk revealin’ himself if he wanted to do that.”

Jack sighed, “I don’t like this.”

“Neither do I, Jack, but if I back outta Overwatch now, people are gonna start really questionin’ what’s on.”

“Think Hanzo could be looking for an ally?” Gabriel asked.

“How do you mean?”

“He revealed himself to you, what does he have to gain from that?”

“Satisfaction?” Jesse said, flicking an ear. “He wanted me to know that he’s in on my secret, have some power to hold over me?”

“From what you’ve told me, I think he wants your help.”

Jesse laughed, “he’s made it very clear to me that he doesn’t want my help.”

“You made it very clear to us that you didn’t want our help, back when Gabe dragged your sorry ass out of Deadlock,” Jack said.

“I’m startin’ to pity y’all.”

“You turned out okay-ish in the end.”

“Thanks, Jack. Glad I got your approval.”

“Any time, Champ.”

“So should I just force him to accept my help?’ Jesse asked.

“Maybe beat him up, that’s what worked for you,” Gabriel shrugged.

“Nah, I don’t want him to fall in love with me.”

Jack snorted, “I’m sure that’s what would happen.”

“What can I say, Jack, I’m a handsome man.”

“Maybe if you’d clean yourself up some, as your friend I’m telling you that it’s time to shave your beard.”

Jesse chuffed out his disapproval, “what’s up with everybody hatin’ my beard?”

“It’s scraggly. You and Gabe both need to shave.”

Gabriel ran a hand along his beard, “I like it,” he protested.

“It looks bad, Gabe.”

“I’m sorry that you’re jealous of my ability to grow a non-patchy beard.”

Jack rolled his eyes, “yes, that’s obviously what this is about.”

Gabriel snorted, “I’ll trim it, if that makes you happy.”

“You kept your goatee for thirty years, why not just stick with that?”

“Because I kept it for thirty years, it’s time for a change, and change is named having a full beard.”

“Sure it’s not you’re just too lazy to shave?”

“Your assumptions wound me, Jackie.”

“Your beard wounds me,” Jack retorted. “I’m not asking you to cut your hair -- though that wouldn’t be remiss.”

“First my beard, now my hair, what’s next, my face?”

“Jesse needs a haircut too, he’s the commander of Blackwatch and he looks like he hasn’t seen a barber in ten years.”

“Make it four years, and you’d be correct, darlin’.”

“I’m half tempted to ambush you with clippers and buzz your hair and beard down whenever you shift back.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I did it before,” when Jesse had accepted Gabriel’s offer to join Blackwatch, Jack’s first order of business had been to shave his hair down to almost nothing. He claimed it was to get Jesse in military order, but Jesse had a suspicion that it was more to show Jesse who controlled his life.

“I’ll let Gabriel trim my beard and hair, if that keeps the clippers locked away,” Jesse said, holding his hands up in surrender.

“Works for me,” Jack shrugged, getting up to rummage through the fridge and find some bagged blood.

“You can drink from the tap, Sweetheart,” Jesse said rolling his head back to bare his neck.

“I’d get a mouth full of fur if I did that,” Jack said, throwing the bags into the microwave. “I’m good with bagged for now.”

“I could shift back,” Jesse offered.

“Sure your bite’s not addictive, Jackie?” Gabriel laughed.

“I think you’ve corrupted Jesse is what you’ve done, Gabe,” Jack shot back.

“I’m a demon, it’s what I do,” Gabriel shrugged.

“I ain’t complainin’,” Jesse laughed.

“Of course you aren’t,” Jack tore into a bag of blood. He drank from it greedily, the first bag gone within a minute. It had been days since he had last drank.

“If yain’t gonna drink from me, I’m gonna go run some laps or somethin’,” Jesse said.

“Want company?” Gabriel asked.

“I’m always down for your company, darlin’,” Jesse said. “You want in, Jack?”

“I’m gonna have to turn you down,” Jack replied, shaking his head. “After I finish these,” he motioned with his chin to the bags of blood he had, “I’m gonna get a shower, clear off the grime of the op.”

“Suit yourself,” Jesse shrugged. “But I gotta do somethin’ that’s not chewing off Gabe’s arm.”

“I’m glad,” Gabriel said dryly.

“I’m real considerate, Boss,” Jesse laughed, wrapping a massive arm around Gabriel’s neck and dragging him to the training room. The two men ran, sparred, and lifted weights until exhausted and Gabriel was dripping with sweat. In wolf form, Jesse didn’t have to worry about the sweat, but he was panting heavily, feeling near overheated after the exercise.

“Can’t believe I’m saying this, Gabe,” Jesse panted. “But for once, I’m glad it’s the full moon, not the days before it.”

“Why’s that?” Gabriel asked as he wiped down the equipment he had been using.

“Being on base was brutal,” Jesse winced. “Just all the smells and noises made me sick. Any full moon weirdness is better than that.”

“Company’s probably better here too,” Gabriel grinned.

“Nah, I think I prefer Hanzo,” Jesse said.

“I fucking knew it, you slept with him.”

“I mean, you know me and my preferences for insufferable dicks.”

“Hurtful!” Gabriel gasped, putting a hand over his chest. Jesse snorted and Gabriel threw an entire bottle’s worth of water at him.

“Jackass,” Jesse growled, shaking the water off.

“I feel like I’ve made a mistake,” Gabriel said dryly. “Because you now reek like a wet dog.”

“I wonder why that is,” Jesse retorted. “Ain’t like you smell like a spring daisy either.”

Gabriel smirked, “well I’m gonna go fix that. You won’t come with me, because it’ll make you smell worse.”

Jesse shook off some of the water on him, trying to land as much of it as possible on Gabriel. Gabriel laughed and shoved him away, “Down, Fido, I don’t need you to give me a shower.”

“It’d be more efficient,” Jesse said, lips pulling back in an an attempt to smile.

“God that’s horrifying,” Gabriel said. “Stop trying to make human faces with your dog face.”

Jesse bowled him over and nibbled on his jaw, “that’s mean, darlin’.”

“Jesse as much as I’d love to be your chew toy right now, I really gotta get a shower.” Jesse rolled off of Gabriel with a whine. Gabriel scratched under Jesse’s chin for a moment before pulling himself off of the ground with a groan. “I think I preferred when we weren’t an equal match in strength.”

Jesse’s tail wagged lazily as he got up and stared at Gabriel, “I like it. Seein’ you get beat up sometimes makes my heart happy.”

“I’m grateful,” Gabriel kissed Jesse on the nose and walked off. “Go dry off or something while I’m getting a shower.”

“It’s your fault that I’m wet!” Jesse called after him, padding off to their bedroom to wait for Gabe to finish up.

Jesse absentmindedly gnawed on a chunk of wood while he texted Genji information on Talon and its movements that he had gotten from Gabriel. An attack in Dorado was planned and Jesse wanted to make sure that a Blackwatch and Overwatch strike team could intercept it. If Genji was suspicious as to where Jesse got the information, he didn’t show it. Instead, he focused in on figuring out whose skills would work there best.

Focus wasn’t kept on Talon for long, though, as Genji had other news to share with Jesse. “Wtf did you do to Hanzo?” He texted.

“?????” Was Jesse’s response.

“He’s been in a damn terrible mood, I tried talking to him abt it & he just stormed off.”

“I mean, I didn’t /do/ anything to Hanzo,” Jesse replied. “He came to me I think asking for help??? And then when I tried to give him advice he fucking pushed me away shrugshrug.”

“Sounds like Hanzo lmao. Just keep wearing him down abt it, he’ll eventually accept your help… I think… I pray I guess. Idk, I just want him to get better.”

“I still don’t get how you could forgive him for what he did.”

“He’s my brother, I love him, what happened in the past happened and we need to move past it.”

“Mature lol… going back to the mission tho do you think Hanzo’d be a good addition to the team?”

The two plotted out mission details for a while longer before Gabriel came back, towel wrapped loosely around his waist and hair dripping. Jesse told Genji that they’d talk later and set his phone away.

“Thought you were on vacation,” Gabriel said, sitting down next to Jesse.

“Vacation ain’t a word I know, Boss,” Jesse replied, pulling Gabriel into his lap. If there was one thing he liked about being a werewolf, it was that when he was shifted he towered over Gabriel. Usually he wasn’t a small man by any means, but he and Gabriel stood about equal. His shifted form added bulk and height, allowing him to wrap Gabriel in his arms and rest his chin on the top of Gabe’s head.

“Apparently personal space isn’t either,” Gabriel said, relaxing into Jesse’s embrace. He yelped in surprise when Jesse began to nibble on the back of his neck. “Jesse, fucking warn me next time.”

Jesse licked at Gabriel’s neck in apology, “I’m gonna chew on your neck now, babe, that make you feel better?”

Gabriel rolled his eyes, “I just got a shower and you’re already getting your nasty drool over me.”

“Like we weren’t gonna fuck sooner or later and ruin that,” Jesse muttered, digging his cold nose into Gabriel’s neck and biting down gently.

“Guess that’s true,” Gabriel shrugged, pulling his neck out of Jesse’s mouth. “How about you go back to chewing on my arm, though?”

Jesse chuffed, blowing warm breath on Gabriel’s neck, “your neck’s at perfect bitin’ level though.”

“Not if I get up and leave.”

“ _Fine_ ,” Jesse grumbled. “Give me your arm.”

Gabriel readjusted himself so he could comfortably lay in Jesse’s arms while his own was getting chewed on. The sensation didn’t hurt, it tickled more than anything, so he didn’t mind it. Jesse would be chewing on something anyway, so Gabriel figured he’d save the base the trouble of having teeth marks all over it.

“You think we’ll see each other in that Talon bust?” Jesse asked after a few minutes of silently chewing on Gabriel’s arm.

“I could arrange for that,” Gabriel said, raising his eyebrows.

“Might have to shoot you a couple of times for authenticity,” Jesse laughed.

“Avoid my beautiful face,” Gabriel laughed.

“It’s already scarred up like crazy,” Jesse laid down, pulling Gabriel back with him and rolled over until he was on top of Gabriel. “You think we’d get away with fucking in the middle of a fight.”

Gabriel’s eyes lit up, “we sure as hell could try.” He threaded his fingers in Jesse’s fur and brought him close, arching his hips to rut against Jesse. “Want me to shift?” He asked softly.

“Nah, I wanna do it like this,” Jesse replied, grinding down. He was half-hard already, dick starting to leave its sheath.

“Grab the lube, I wanna take you,” Gabriel said in a near whisper. Jesse’s eyes widened in shock, they had fucked around a couple of times shifted before, but Gabriel had either been fucking him or just jerked him off. He scrambled to find the lube, digging blindly through the bedside drawer.

“You sure, sweetheart?” Jesse asked, his tail was wagging like crazy.

“Yeah, I’m curious,” Gabriel shrugged. “I’m preparing myself, though.”

“What, don’t want claws in your ass?” Jesse grinned, finally grabbing hold of the lube and dropping the bottle down onto Gabriel’s chest.

“That sounds like more trouble than it’s worth,” Gabriel replied, pushing Jesse off of him so he could get into a better position to prepare himself.

Jesse lazily stroked his cock to fullness, watching Gabriel’s minute facial shifts. He didn’t know if he would ever get tired of watching Gabriel reveal a side of himself that so few had seen. To the world, before the fall, Gabriel Reyes had been stoic and serious, the foil to Jack Morrison’s media friendly face and easy grins. To Overwatch, he had been an iron backbone, firm and unyielding. Within Blackwatch, the agents knew a side of him that was still iron, but was deeply devoted and cared for all of the agents. Yet he was impersonal and distant. It had taken Jesse years to worm his way into any type of friendship with Gabriel, and by the time that he left Blackwatch, he hadn’t been sure if he really knew Gabriel at all.

He had never dreamed that he would ever see Gabriel bared, so vulnerable and open, before him. In private, Jack had confessed to him that he had never seen Gabriel like he was with Jesse. It went both ways, with Gabriel, Jesse didn’t feel the need to keep up the mask of jokes that he had on with everybody else. He didn’t feel the need to play up the dumb cowboy act in order to keep attention away from himself. Gabriel knew about the problems Jesse had, the depression, the alcoholism, and he still loved Jesse. He firmly but gently pushed Jesse to be better, to try to improve every day. He had done it ever since that day in Deadlock Gorge.

“I think I might really love you,” Jesse said softly as Gabriel’s breath hitched when he brushed against his prostate.

Gabriel cracked open an eye, “full moon making you sentimental?”

“Maybe,” Jesse laughed as he continued to slowly stroke his cock. “Lookin’ at you, all beautiful like this, only for me, just made me think ‘bout how lucky I am to have you.”

Gabriel closed his eyes as he added a third finger, “I’m the lucky one, getting you back after everything that happened.” He came suddenly was a soft gasp.

“Tryin’ to get ahead of me?” Jesse laughed.

Gabriel’s erection had hardly flagged, “just had to make sure I was nice and ready for you, babe.”

“You ready for me?” Jesse asked.

“Of course,” was all the encouragement Jesse needed as he moved back over to Gabriel and grabbed hold of Gabriel’s legs to wrap them around his waist. Slowly, he lubed up his cock and began to slowly rock back and forth, rubbing against Gabriel’s ass.

“I’m gonna start goin’ in now, Boss,” Jesse said as he lined his cock up and began to slowly slide in. He left out a soft moan at the feeling. Much like the rest of his body, as a werewolf his cock was larger, and sliding into Gabe he could feel it. “Lemme know if I’m goin’ too fast or if it’s too much.”

Gabriel’s breath hitched as Jesse continued to slowly slide in, “you’re good, more than good. Don’t know why we didn’t do this before.”

Jesse continued to slowly slide in, whining softly as he did so, until he finally got to the hilt. Gabriel clenched around him, and Jesse held still until Gabriel relaxed, adjusting to the length within him. “I’m gonna start movin’,” He said breathlessly into Gabriel’s ear. Gabriel’s response was a low hum and his eyes were thin slits as he watched Jesse above him.

Jesse kept his pace gentle initially, rocking his hips slowly and keeping a sharp eye on Gabriel to make sure that he was still fine.

“Pick up the pace,” Gabriel commanded softly, grabbing hold of McCree’s prosthetic hand and squeezing it.

Jesse swallowed hard, “of course, darlin’.” He began to thrust harder, angling his hips to brush just barely one moment  and hammering directly at it the next. Gabriel’s head was thrown back, lips just barely parted as gentle praise left his lips.

Eventually, Jesse was fucking Gabriel hard, moans and growls tearing from his throat. Gabriel was near breathless beneath him, face the picture of blissed out ecstasy. “I’m gonna come,” Jesse groaned out as he wrapped his mouth around Gabriel’s neck, biting down gently to stifle a moan. He felt the knot at the base of his cock expanding as he thrust deeply into Gabriel out of instinct.

Gabriel, feeling the stretch, let out a breathless moan, coming hard as Jesse continued to buck his hips as he came.

“How long’s that gonna stay there?” Gabriel asked as Jesse laid down on top of him, making pleased whines.

Jesse shrugged, “dunno. Probably should have asked you about it beforehand.”

“Nah, it’s good,” Gabriel wrapped his arms around Jesse and kissed the side of his snout.

“ _You’re_ good,” Jesse said, nuzzling against Gabriel’s face.

“I am good, aren’t I?” Gabriel laughed.

“I take it back, you’re too cocky.”

“Too late, you said it.”

Jesse chuffed contentedly as he rolled him and Gabriel over until they were resting on their sides. “Goin’ back’s gonna suck.”

“Nah, you love Blackwatch.”

“I love Blackwatch but I’ve got Hanzo to deal with,” Jesse sighed.

Gabriel lightly scratched at Jesse’s back, “just keep at it with him. You could use an ally within Overwatch who knows about supernaturals.”

“Just not sure Hanzo’s gonna be a good choice for an ally.”

“Babe, if I could turn you around after Deadlock, I’m sure you can help Hanzo get on the right path.”

“You got a lotta faith in me, Boss,” Jesse laughed, nosing at Gabriel’s hair.

“I’ve got an eye for the best, what can I say.”

Jesse snorted and closed his eyes, “whatever you say, babe.” He said before he fell asleep in Gabriel’s arms, content to spend the rest of the full moon like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on twitter/tumblr/instagram @smalls2233


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse's back to the base and he has an idea how to connect with Hanzo.  
> Moonshine.

**** “You look better,” Fareeha greeted Jesse as he arrived back at Gibraltar. “I can’t tell if it’s that you look less sick, or if it’s because you got a haircut and trimmed your beard.”

Jesse laughed and flipped Fareeha off, “hey to you too.

“You’d look better without the beard.”

“Do you want me to go back to just the sideburns?”

“Anything but that,” Fareeha laughed. “Are you feeling better though?”

“Yeah, you and Angela are unlucky enough to get to be graced by my presence once again at meals.”

“God save us all.”

Jesse grinned as he put away the hovercycle. Between his teeth was an unlit cigar that he was chomping on. Despite the full moon coming and going -- and with it the oversensitivity, he still felt a small need to bite down on things. He figured it’d go away within a couple of days, and that as long as he kept a cigar with him or chewed gum, no one would notice.

“Nobody blow up the base when i was gone?” He paused and winced, “probably a bad choice of words, considering Overwatch’s history.”

Fareeha snorted, “You’ve always had a way with words, Jesse. Things have been pretty fine, though, except for Hanzo.”

“Genji mentioned something about that,” Jesse sighed. “Do I need to have a word with him?”

“Have any of your words with him worked so far?” Fareeha asked.

“I’ve got a secret weapon this time,” Jesse patted the duffle bag by his side.

“Oh?”

“It’s called good ol’ American moonshine. Three jars, caramel apple, cherry pie, and some spiked sweet tea.”

Fareeha clicked her tongue, “Jesse, are you sure this is a good idea?”

“I’m out of pretty much any other ideas,” Jesse shrugged. “I’m sure Hanzo’d be more willing to talk when he’s drinkin’ moonshine. Hell, I should use it for interrogations, it’d get the bad guys talkin’ real quick.”

“Dude, I’m not your mom, but is it a good idea for  _ you _ ?”

“It’s fine, I won’t be falling off the wagon, it’s just a momentary pause -- it’s like a single foot‘s touchin’ the ground.”

Fareeha exhaled loudly, “I won’t tell Angela, but you can’t start drinking again, Jesse.”

“I’ve just got the three jars, you can look through my bag if you don’t believe me.”

“I trust you, dude. It’s just, you’re some of the last family I have left. I don’t want you drinking yourself to an early grave.”

Jesse gently put a hand on Fareeha’s shoulder, “Fareeha, I won’t, I promise.”

“You better not, if you did I’d drag you from your grave and kick your ass.”

“Ain’t no grave can my body down,” Jesse sang, humming the melody. 

“If you’re gonna keep singing country, you get to walk back to the base yourself,” Fareeha warned. 

Jesse sang louder, earning him a punch on the shoulder from Fareeha. “ _ Ow _ !” He yelped. “I thought you were gonna leave me, not physically assault me.”

“I changed my mind,” Fareeha laughed.

“You know you love my singing,” Jesse said, starting the walk back to the base.

“I’d like it better if you sang music that’s actually _ good _ .”

The two laughed and argued about music as they walked back to the base -- an argument they’ve had going since Jesse first joined Overwatch and was forced to spend time with Ana, Reinhardt, or Gabriel watching over him. As a result, Jesse had spent plenty of time around Fareeha as they both grew up. Gabriel had tainted Fareeha, in Jesse’s opinion, making her listen to all kinds of classic rock that were old even when Gabriel was born, ancient when Fareeha was born.

After the near silence of the Watchpoint Gabe, Jack, and Ana had taken control of, the noises of Overwatch activity were obscenely loud as the two got close to the base. It was still better than it had been before the full moon, however. The noises were distracting and annoying, but they weren’t pounding in his head. 

“I think Angela wants to do your checkup, now that you’re back,” Fareeha said as they swiped into the Watchpoint.

Jesse tried to play it off, “let me check up on the training for the agents and discuss plans for the Talon strike first.”

“It’s only gonna take like five minutes, she just has to draw some blood and do a bioscan.”

“I ain’t one for needles.”

Fareeha pursed her lips, “Jesse, just get it over with.”

“Nah, I need to get the details sorted for the Talon strike done, I want my first strike done as commander of Blackwatch to go perfectly.”

“I guess I can’t fault that,” Fareeha shrugged. “I remember the first time I led a mission for Helix, I was so nervous beforehand I could barely eat anything.”

“Now you’re a right leader,” Jesse said, bumping shoulders with Fareeha. “Just give me until this mission’s over and I’ll go see Angie, pinky promise.”

“You better, Jesse McCree,” she said, ramming her shoulder back at Jesse. 

They parted ways when they got inside, Fareeha to help train some Overwatch recruits and Jesse to drop off his stuff and change clothes to his Blackwatch uniform before going into meetings for the rest of the day. He hadn’t been completely lying to Fareeha about wanting to make sure that the Talon strike went perfectly. Even with Gabriel and Sombra working against Talon from within, the tech they were after in Dorado was too important to be stolen.

“How do you think Los Muertos will react?” Genji asked, sifting through the documents Jesse had sent him. “This is their turf, I don’t know how much they’ll like Talon stepping in it.”

“I have a former Muertos contact that I could hit up,” Jesse said. “Ask her what she thinks their response will be.” He paused for a moment as he searched for a relevant document. “Here,” he said, expanding it and transferring it to everybody’s tablets. “This is a doc that has some info on the history between the two. It’s not a ton of history, but I think it could work out in our favor. Talon’s organized, Los Muertos is just a bunch of punks.”

“We’d just have to be careful not to be draw their attention to us,” Lena hummed as she flicked through the documents. “Probably use our more stealthy agents?”

“I agree,” Jesse said. “I actually spent time on my vacation making a few potential team comps for this. I’ll transfer them to your tablets so you can look them over.” He pulled up the files and sent them over. “Ideally, I’d want me, both Shimadas, Rivas, and Ziegler on the drop initially. Song wouldn’t be a bad choice if we need somebody later on to pack in big muscle, but she’s too flashy for a first strike. I’d say the same for dos Santos as well. Have him ready as a backup medic.”

“How about Amari?” Winston asked.

“If need be, backup, but again, too flashy. We need people who can get in and out quietly.”

“I could do it,” Lena offered.

“Wouldn’t be a bad idea,” Genji mused. “How many Talon operatives do you think there’ll be?”

Jesse pursed his lips, “I have reason to suspect that Reaper will be there, so considerin’ that, it’ll probably be a smaller team than a usual Talon strike.” In reality, he knew the exact numbers. It would be less than half of a usual Talon strike force. Two members -- Gabriel and Sombra -- would be working against Talon so it would work more in Overwatch’s favor. Too bad he couldn’t mention that.

“I’d still rather be safe than sorry and prep for a full Talon force,” Winston said as he flipped through files. “ _ Especially _ if the Reaper will be there.”

“Thinking of Reaper, has there been any update on Soldier:76’s movements?” Lena asked. “There’s usually some pattern of where the Reaper shows up, 76 is there shortly after.”

“He seems to have been laying low recently,” Genji said. “He did a raid on another Helix facility just a couple of days ago. Maybe see if Amari can get us details on that?”

“That’d be good,” Winston said. “I wish we could get a clear read on his motives.”

“Wouldn’t that be nice,” Jesse said. Not for the first time, he wished that he could lay out the truth. It would make things like planning these Talon strikes easier, but there’d be too many questions, too many prying eyes. So he bit his tongue and lied, “I _ think _ he and Reaper are workin’ against each other. I would hesitate to call him an ally for Overwatch, but I think he’s not  _ against _ us.”

“Do you think he’ll show up in Dorado?” Lena asked, running a hand through her hair.

“I doubt it, what would he have to gain? He’s usually goin’ after weapons and this is just pure tech. We could prep for him, but it’d be a waste of time in my opinion.” Jesse knew for a fact that Jack would not be anywhere near Dorado on that day, he was planning a weapons raid in Cairo instead. Not that he could say that, but he could subtly convince everybody to forget about Jack.

Winston furrowed his brows, “I think we should still prepare for 76 just in case.”

“This doesn’t follow his patterns, Winston,” Jesse said. “If Talon were goin’ after weapons, then I’d say prep for 76, but this is pure tech and info. If you look at the pattern of Reaper and 76 sightings, Reaper’s the one goin’ after the tech and stuff, 76 has only ever stolen weapons.”

“I agree with Jesse,” Genji said after a moment’s thought. “It makes sense to be prepared, but this doesn’t follow along with what we know of Soldier:76.”

“Lena, what are your thoughts?” Jesse asked.

Lena paused for a second, drumming her fingers on the table as she thought. “I think Winston’s right to be concerned about 76,” she said slowly. “But I think I agree with you, Love, that it doesn’t follow his pattern. I’d say forget about him for now.

“I’ll concede,” Winston said. “But when we finish with this Dorado mission, I want to see if we can try to target down 76. I don’t like him running around out there, he’s a wildcard.” Genji and Lena both nodded their agreement.

“I’ll look into it personally, darlin’,” Jesse said. He didn’t want anybody else looking too deeply into Soldier:76 just in case they put the pieces together. Winston had already confided in Jesse that he wasn’t convinced that Jack and Gabriel were dead. He cited the lack of bodies as something worrisome. Jesse had tried to reassure him that it was probably nothing to worry about -- the fire might have cremated them, but Winston had been unconvinced.

“I appreciate it, Jesse,” Winston replied.

“It’s not a problem,” Jesse replied, standing up. “I gotta get goin’ to another meeting now, but if y’all could forward me your ideas for any other potential comps for this strike team I’d appreciate it.”

“What’s this meeting?” Lena asked, sliding her laptop and tablet into a bag.

“I heard Hanzo’s behavior has been, well, less than stellar while I was gone. I’m gonna have a chat with him about it.”

“Please leave him in one piece,” Genji laughed.

“Sweetheart, I’m plannin’ on just usin’ words this time.”

“If you say so.”

“Words, and copious amounts of alcohol,” Jesse added as he winked and saluted, leaving the room. The base had gotten even busier since he had left just a couple of days before. He kept getting stopped by both Overwatch and Blackwatch agents to either chat or ask for assistance. Either way, he had to turn them down as he was already late for his meeting with Hanzo.

He briefly thought about convincing Winston to start looking into taking back other old Watchpoints. There had to be a plan somewhere down the line for it, and with the rate people were rushing to rejoin Overwatch, he hoped it would come into play sooner rather than later. 

“You’re late,” Hanzo scowled, waiting outside the door to Jesse’s office.

“Yain’t the only meetin’ I have going on today, Hanzo,” Jesse replied, swiping into his office and holding open the door for Hanzo.

“I would have been on time, other meetings or not,” Hanzo brushed past Jesse to seat himself on one of the chairs in Jesse’s office.

Jesse bit back a nasty retort. “I’m not gonna be playin’ the insult game with you today, Shimada.”

“But it’s my favorite.”

“I’m sure it is,” Jesse rolled his eyes. He reached down under his desk and grabbed the mason jars filled with moonshine. “You and I are gonna drink, and we’re gonna talk about what went down before I left.”

“You mean the fact that you’re a werewolf?”

“I was thinkin’ along the lines of you refusin’ help for anything.”

Hanzo’s eyes grew dark as he clicked his tongue, “I do not need your help.”

“And I’m the fuckin’ queen of England,” Jesse scoffed as he poured alcohol into shot glasses. “So you’re gonna take shots with me until you’re drunk enough to actually talk about your problems like a grownup.”

Hanzo eyed the shot Jesse set down in front of him with suspicion, “what is this?”

“Moonshine, cherry pie flavored.”

Hanzo looked at Jesse with disgust as he sniffed the shot, “does everything you Americans consume have to be so painfully sweet?”

“It just matches our personalities, darlin’,” Jesse threw the first shot back and motioned for Hanzo to do the same. With obvious reluctance, Hanzo downed the shot, grimacing. “It ain’t that bad, why are you making that face?” Jesse asked him.

“It’s terrible,” Hanzo replied.

“I think that just means you gotta drink more until you stop givin’ a shit about the taste,” Jesse shrugged, already pouring the second shots. Being a werewolf had sent his alcohol tolerance skyrocketing, much to his disappointment. But then again, not like he had much of a chance to think about that when Gabriel, Jack, and Ana were all convinced to keep him away from any hard liquor.

However, one night when Jack had gotten back from a particularly stressful mission, he had near forced Jesse to drink until plastered so in turn, Jack could drink from him and gain the effects of the alcohol. He never asked Jack what he had to do that night, but whatever it was had been bad enough for him to look haunted for days.

So while Jesse preferred whiskey, enjoyed the burn, moonshine was better for trying to get drunk. He assumed, at least, after all it was pretty much mostly alcohol, and he was planning on slamming down shots. He wasn’t sure how being a demon affected Hanzo’s tolerance, but he figured that if they were gonna be matching shots, being a bit more sober than Hanzo wouldn’t be something to complain about.

Jesse took his second shot, Hanzo followed suit. 

“I’ve never had moonshine before,” Hanzo admitted.

“Good ol’ American grain alcohol. It’ll put some hair in your chest and make some bad decisions for you,” Jesse laughed. His stomach was empty, so he was beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol. He wasn’t buzzed or tipsy yet, but there was definitely alcohol in his stomach. Third shots were poured and immediately gulped down. Hanzo’s cheeks were beginning to flush and Jesse could finally see what had been bugging him about Hanzo’s eyes.

“Come here,” Jesse said, grabbing Hanzo’s chin and pulling him forward. “I wanna look in your eyes?”

Hanzo’s eyes went wide, obviously flustered, “you  _ what _ ?” He asked.

“Your eyes, they’ve been buggin’ me,” Jesse said, inspecting Hanzo’s eyes. The pupils weren’t circular, they were closer to diamond shaped. “Huh, neat,” he let go of Hanzo’s chin and Hanzo shot back into his seat.

“Give me another shot,” Hanzo ordered, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You ain’t callin’ the shots here,” Jesse said, but he was already pouring another shot. “Get it, callin’ the  _ shots _ .”

To Jesse’s surprise, Hanzo actually laughed at this. He was definitely drunk, though that wasn’t a surprise. Several shots of moonshine would do that to anybody not burdened by SEP enhancements or being a werewolf. Hell, the first time he had gotten Angela to try moonshine, she was out for the count after a single shot.

“You wanna slow down?” Jesse asked, holding the glass cautiously in a hand.

“Give me the shot, werewolf,” Hanzo said. A grin snuck up on his face when he added, “you wouldn’t be much of a gunslinger if you couldn’t dish out shots.”

Jesse held back a laugh, a small cry leaving his throat as he looked at Hanzo in shocked, delighted surprise. Hanzo was usually operating at some level of not sober, but drunk Hanzo was a sight to behold. 

“So, you gonna accept my help yet?” Jesse asked, handing Hanzo the next shot before slamming his down. He was definitely feeling the alcohol now, pleasant fuzziness coating his thoughts.

“I don’t, I don’t need your help,” Hanzo replied as he took another shot. 

“I think ya do.”

“I don’t.”

“You do.”

“All I need your help with is a getting me another shot.”

“Sweetheart, I’m gonna play bartender and hold you off there, you’ve taken like four shots of moonshine in less than thirty minutes.”

“I can handle it.”

“ _ I _ can barely handle it.”

“Just give me the alcohol,” Hanzo reached for the bottle of moonshine and Jesse pulled it back, splashing some on his desk before screwing the lid of the jar back on.

“You’ve had enough for now,” hell, even Jesse had enough alcohol for the moment. The moonshine sat like lead in his gut, and he was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, getting drunk with Hanzo hadn’t been the best idea.

Hanzo made a frustrated noise and leaned back in his chair, playing with his shot glass. Despite being four shots of 190 proof alcohol in, his fingers will still surprisingly nimble and Jesse found himself staring. 

“I might need your help,” Hanzo admitted finally, words slurred. “Look, I’m, I’m not good at this.”

“What a surprise,” Jesse muttered under his breath. 

Hanzo got right up in Jesse’s face and grabbed the collar of his shirt, “McCree,” his breath reeked of alcohol. “McCree, listen.”

Jesse pried Hanzo off of him, “I don’t need you in my face to listen to you.”

“Look,” Hanzo said, falling back into his chair. “Look,  _ look _ .” Jesse was definitely not sober enough for this. “I just, don’t know how to do this.”

“Accept help?”

“ _ Yeah _ ,” Hanzo sighed. “Do you know any other supernaturals?”

Jesse wasn’t sober enough to lie, “yeah.”

“I did too, and now I don’t. I left the Shimada-gumi, all our contacts turned on me.”

“Uh.”

“Shh, shh,  _ shhh _ ,” Hanzo shushed him. “Listen, I just. Don’t have any guidance?” Hanzo threw his hands up in the air, “I became, this,” he motioned at himself. “So I could find redemption, so I could represent the monster that I was, but, I just, I just don’t know what I’m doing. I’m so lost.”

“Hanzo,” Jesse started, leaning over his desk, sleeves landing in the puddle of spilled moonshine. “Hanzo, listen to me. When I was a kid, I was a fuckin’  _ idiot _ .” He leaned further down, more of his clothes got soaked in moonshine. More of it spilled than he thought did, shit that moonshine was strong. “I fucked up so bad. But I was given a shot by--”

Hanzo snorted, “given a shot.”

Jesse laughed loudly before continuing, “I was given a  _ chance _ by somebody above me. I’m gonna be honest with you here, man to man,” he was just laying down on the desk at this point. “I don’t fuckin’ like you, I would gladly punch you again. But I’m gonna give you a fuckin’ shot because I was given a fuckin’ shot.”

“I’ll be honest with you too, Jesse,” Hanzo said. “I  _ do _ like you.”

“I’m… Glad?” Jesse asked.

“But listen,  _ listen _ , I don’t even know if I  _ deserve _ a shot,” he paused for a moment. “Actually, I deserve another shot, but I don’t deserve a chance. Give me the jar of your disgustingly sweet alcohol.”

“Sweetheart, neither of us deserve another shot. We’re both painfully drunk and it’s like,” he checked his watch. “It’s like not even noon yet.  _ Jesus _ I have more meetings to get to today. Why did I do this?” He was pretty sure he’d be able to sober up before his next meeting, but then again, he had four shots of 190 proof moonshine in less than 30 minutes. On an empty stomach. Well, he had been interested in seeing what it took to get him plastered, and he sure got that. 

Hanzo sighed, “I’m… I’m happy you did this. I’m gonna go back to my room and sleep. And never drink moonshine again.”

Jesse eyed the remaining moonshine he had, “that might be a good idea.” He could probably gift it to the Blackwatch agents for the inevitable Blackwatch parties that would happen. He sighed, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to participate in them anymore.

“Goodbye, Jesse,” Hanzo said softly, stumbling to the door. “And,” he took a deep breath, “thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update may be a bit late, I'm gonna be out, away from a computer, for the next couple of days. Tho lbr most fic authors are updating like w weeks between updates so lmao  
> \---  
> Follow me on twitter/tumblr/instagram @smalls2233


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse distracts Reaper so his team can execute the strike at Dorado

After weeks of preparation, Jesse stood on the outskirts of Dorado, comm in his ear and visor over an eye to track the locations of the assets on the field. Initially, he had refused the tech, claiming that he didn't need assistance with Deadeye. Winston had to put him in a near stranglehold to force him to wear the visor over an eye in order to try it out. 

When he finally conceded to wearing the visor, he began to understand why Jack had always used one back in his field days (and wore a modified visor after the fall). Jesse had always been proud of his aim, but the visor made setting up shots easier and even did rudimentary vital scans of the bad guys. Not to mention it made tracking his assets on the field easier. When an asset was wounded, a brief notification would pop up thanks to their biotrackers. Their location was also monitored and with a few clicks, Jesse could find out where any agent was at a given time. 

“Shimadas check in,” Jesse barked down the comm. 

“Ready and raring to go, Commander,” Genji buzzed in. “Got three baddies in my sights.”

“I am ready,” Hanzo said simply.

“Good. Rivas?”

“Ready when you are, McCree,” Rivas reported. “I’ve got an EMP ready to deploy when needed.”

“Perfect. Oxton?”

“Be in and out in a blink, Commander.”

Jesse chuckled, “Understood. Ziegler, ready to patch us up?”

“When am I not?”

“Message received. On my mark, Rivas drop the EMP and everybody roll in,” Jesse said, checking the locations of the Talon operatives that Gabriel had sent him one last time. “Remember, I’ll distract Reaper and y'all make sure to take out the other Talon operatives.”

His signal was three short clicks on the comm before he ambushed an operative, eliminating her with a silenced blast from Peacekeeper. His comm crackled and his visor flickered as Rivas deployed the EMP and all of the lights surrounding him went dark. 

“EMP deployed, headed in now,” Rivas buzzed in. More clicks on the comm were heard as the other assets notified Jesse of their movement. 

Jesse stalked along the backstreets of Dorado, gun at the ready as he searched for the meeting place he had set up with Gabriel and Sombra. The streets were eerily quiet, even to Jesse’s enhanced senses. 

He didn't like it. 

He  _ especially _ didn't like it when two Talon goons appeared out of nowhere and got two shots off at him, one hitting him square in his chest piece, the other grazing his shoulder. He bit back a scream of pain as he raised Peacekeeper to shoot one in the head, the other already taken care of by a cloud of smoke that materialized behind her and snapped her neck.

_ Gabriel _ . 

Despite knowing that Gabriel was working against Talon, that he had just snapped the neck of a Talon operative for him, Jesse still felt fear rise in his gut at the sight of him. He wasn't dressed in his usual Reaper gear. Instead, he was decked out in white and gold, owl skull mask replaced by a metal candy skull. 

As over the top as the outfit was, when that skull turned its gaze towards Jesse, he felt his hand shake ever so slightly in fear as he pointed Peacekeeper towards Gabriel. His visor lit up, unable to get any read on Gabriel’s vitals. Two shots rang out in quick succession from Peacekeeper as Gabriel bolted forward towards Jesse.

The bullets barely grazed him, one shot going completely wild and the other tearing the fabric of Gabriel’s coat, hardly nicking the skin at all.

Jesse was tackled and his head slammed hard on the ground. A single gloved hand wrapped around his neck and the other plucked the visor off of his head, staring directly into the camera before crushing it. 

“Are you okay?” Gabriel asked, pulling off his mask when he was certain that any of the cameras were off and they were alone. 

“Just peachy,” Jesse winced, running a hand along his shoulder where he had gotten shot. “Ain't nothin’ a biotic field can't take care of.”

Gabriel nodded as he sat down next to Jesse. “I’m surprised Rivas came back,” he said. Jess Rivas had been one of the names in the stack of resignation papers Jesse had handed in when he resigned. “Didn't think she’d ever come back to Blackwatch.”

“Glad she did,” Jesse said, laying his head on Gabriel’s shoulder. “You look fucking stupid by the way. What’s with the guitar?”

“Sombra and I decided to have fun. She’s matching,” Gabriel grinned. “She’s got a violin.”

Jesse raised an eyebrow, “well shit, get me a banjo and we could be a regular bluegrass band. Where is Sombra anyway?”

“Smart enough to know we’re gonna need a little time alone before she decides to butt in,” Gabriel wrapped an arm around Jesse. “So wanna use that time wisely?”

“I was plannin’ on it,” Jesse grinned, pulling Gabriel in for a kiss. “Just take off the stupid hat first, I’m beggin’ you.”

“Says the nearly forty year old man wearing a cowboy hat,” Gabriel shot back, but he took off the sombrero. “What do you think of the costume, though? Made it myself.”

“Of course you did,” Jesse grinned against Gabriel’s lips. “Despite how silly it is, it still scared the shit outta me. Did you embroider everything by hand?”

“Do I look like a man with a death wish?” Gabriel laughed, planting a light kiss on Jesse’s lips. “I used a machine, still looks fucking fantastic though, doesn't it?”

“I’m sorry I had to shoot it,” Jesse replied as he pulled Gabriel in for a deeper kiss. “You forgive me?”

“Keep kissing me like that and maybe,” Gabriel winked and kissed Jesse again, the two men toppled over and laid on the hard ground. Jesse arched his hips to grind up against Gabriel’s and Gabriel groaned into Jesse’s mouth. 

“I don't think we’ll have time to fuck,” Jesse said, panting slightly as he broke off the kiss.

Gabriel frowned and laid on top of Jesse. “What makes you say that?”

“Babe, consider the situation.”

“The situation has been considered, and sadly you’re right,” Gabriel sighed, reaching down to palm at Jesse’s cock. “”I’ll have to wait a couple of weeks to fully appreciate you, what a shame,” he planted kisses along Jesse’s jawline as he fumbled blindly with Jesse’s belt and pants. 

“Good things come to those who wait,” Jesse said, unbuckling Gabriel’s belts and freeing his cock. “Stand up, Boss, lemme take care of you real good.”

Goddamn there was no way Gabriel could refuse that type of offer, so he scrambled to his feet and offered Jesse a hand. Concern colored Gabriel’s face as Jesse took Gabriel’s offered hand to pull himself up and winced in pain. 

“Jesse, babe, you sure you're okay?” Gabriel asked. 

“Right as rain, sweetheart,” Jesse said, grin strained. “Ain't a silver bullet, just a regular ol’ lead one so I'm sure I’ll be good.” He winced again as he moved, “Got shot in the chest too, might have broken a rib or two.”

“Are you sure you shouldn't be getting to Angela rather than sucking me off, Jesse?” Gabriel asked, lightly caressing the side of Jesse’s face with a gloved hand. 

“And explain how I took care of the Reaper in like five minutes?” Jesse laughed. “I’m a big boy, I can handle this, I've dealt with worse,” he motioned towards his prosthetic arm and Gabriel felt an old guilt coil in his stomach. 

“Jesse, I,” Gabriel started, memories rushing back of a mission gone wrong, fire and Jesse screaming, Gabriel having to saw off Jesse’s arm, trapped beneath rubble, with a combat knife. His touch on Jesse’s face grew firmer, as if he needed something to ground him to keep him out of those memories. 

“Gabe, it’s  _ okay _ ,” Jesse said as he leaned into Gabriel’s touch. “I’m fine, shit like this happens in our line of work.”

Gabriel hissed out a sigh, “I know, I need to stop thinking about this.”

Jesse raised an eyebrow as he gently kissed Gabriel, “I could help with that.”

“Oh?” Gabriel asked when they broke apart. “What do you have in mind?”

“Well your dick’s already hanging out, so,” Jesse grinned as he brought a hand down to Gabriel’s half-hard cock. 

Gabriel swallowed as he felt Jesse’s hand touch his cock. “Sounds like a good plan to me,” he said. 

Jesse slowly sank to his knees, he planted kisses on Gabriel’s neck, chest, and stomach as he went down. With a sly grin, he locked eyes with Gabriel and stroked his cock to full hardness. 

Gabriel stroked Jesse’s hair as he brought his mouth to Gabriel’s cock, hard after Jesse’s ministrations. When Jesse wrapped his lips around his cock, Gabriel let out a shuddering sigh, his fingers tightening in Jesse’s hair. 

Jesse took his time, at least as much as it as he could have in the situation. He hummed low in the back of his throat as he relaxed his jaw to allow more of Gabriel inside of him. Gabriel pulled lightly at Jesse’s hair, forcing him to take more of his cock. His hips thrust slightly, and Jesse felt Gabriel’s cock begin to enter his throat. 

“Can you take it, beautiful?” Gabriel asked as he stopped pulling at Jesse’s hair instead to stroke and smooth it out.

Jesse’s response was to swallow hard around Gabriel’s dick and take him to the base, gagging slightly at the intrusion. Tears pricked at his eyes as he stayed still for a moment, letting himself adjust to Gabriel’s length. He finally moved when his lungs burned for air, he only went far enough off to let himself breathe in a few shallow breaths through his nose before going back down on Gabriel. 

“God, look at you,” Gabriel groaned, hips thrusting shallowly. “So fucking beautiful, sucking my dick in the middle of a mission.”

Jesse’s eyes went wide at the thought and he briefly forgot how to breathe. Gabriel noticed this and continued on, “Your team’s risking their lives, and you’re here choking on my cock.” When Jesse swallowed hard around Gabriel’s cock, Gabriel moaned loudly. “Imagine if one of your agents saw you, Blackwatch’s commander on his knees, sucking off the enemy,” grunts and moans punctuated his words, control rapidly slipping as he came closer to the edge. 

Gabriel knew he was fucked when Jesse all but pulled off of his cock before taking it all again. He tried to form words, to keep egging Jesse on, but his mouth seemed to only want to moan Jesse’s name. He came with a shuddering moan and Jesse took it all. 

“You know,” Jesse said as he stood up. “Explainin’ why I was suckin’ your dick would probably have been easier than explainin’ about you still being alive if anybody saw this.”

“Wanna try?” Gabriel asked as he kissed Jesse. 

“I’d rather not,” Jesse grinned. “You think we've got enough time to get me off too?” He quietly wished that Gabriel hadn't smashed his visor so he could track the position of his assets on the field. 

Gabriel pursed his lips, “Probably, of we’re quick.”

“I’m hard enough that I doubt that’ll be difficult,” Jesse laughed.

Jesse was pushed back against the wall as Gabriel knelt in front of him. Quickly, Gabriel dealt with the last of Jesse’s belts and fly and freed his weeping cock. 

Just before Gabriel wrapped his lips around Jesse’s cock, Lena buzzed in on the comm. “Commander, I've got eyes on the tech. Do you want me to make a move?”

Jesse hissed in a breath as Gabriel stroked his cock. “You gonna reply, McCree?” Gabriel asked, looking up innocently at Jesse as he continued to jack Jesse off. 

“Wanna get your hand off my cock first?” Jesse said breathlessly. 

“Commander?” Lena asked again.

Jesse glared at Gabriel who was licking stripes along the base of Jesse’s dick. “Negative,” Jesse said as he flicked on his mic, trying to sound like he wasn't getting sucked off. “Stay where you are and pick off any Talon goons that get near the tech.” He couldn't hold back a groan before he switched off the mic. 

“Are you okay?” Lena asked, worried. 

“I’m fine,” Jesse’s glare intensified while Gabriel pretended not to notice. “I got shot in the shoulder,” another groan and this time he kneed Gabriel in the shoulder. “But it’s fine. I’m currently taking on Reaper.”

“Do you need backup?” Genji buzzed in. 

“ _ No _ ,” Jesse snapped immediately, probably too quickly. “I’m handling,” another groan interrupted his sentence. “This. Continue on with the plan. McCree out.” He flicked off his mic immediately and moaned loudly. 

“ _ Gabriel _ ,” Jesse hissed. “The fuck was that?”

Gabriel gently stroked Jesse’s dick, “You wanted me to suck you off,” he grinned. 

“God I hate you,” Jesse said, as he placed a hand on the back of Gabriel’s head. 

“Nah,” Gabriel said before sucking Jesse off in earnest.

Eventually, Jesse came, moaning Gabriel’s name. Gabriel stood up again and kissed Jesse’s cheek. Jesse was still panting as he nuzzled his cheek up against Gabriel’s mouth and tucked his cock back in his pants. 

“Am I forgiven?” Gabriel asked as he planted kisses along Jesse’s jaw. 

“Depends on if people start askin’ questions and thinkin’ that I wasn't groaning in pain,” Jesse laughed, quickly turning his head to kiss Gabriel on the nose. He was quiet for a moment as he zipped his pants back up and buckled his belts. “I think i’m gonna need you to shoot me, though,” he said finally. 

“Shoot you?” Gabriel’s brows knit together. “Jesse that’s--”

“Sweetheart, trust me. You know where to shoot to not kill me, and I’m a lot tougher than a human,” he took Gabriel’s face in his hands and brought their foreheads together. “I trust you, Gabe.”

“Jesse you have a death wish,” Gabriel said, eyes closed. “But I trust you too, and if you think this is the call to make, then it’s the call to make.”

Jesse patted Gabriel’s chin a couple of times before walking back several yards. “Well babe, time to take twenty something years worth of frustration out on me,” he grinned. 

“For some reason I thought we talked about you shooting me,” Gabriel shook his head as he also walked backwards. “I’m gonna shoot four times, ideally hitting you twice. I want the buckshot to graze you more than anything for two hits, the other two will be direct.”

“Sweetheart, I don't want a play by play. Just shoot--” Jesse cut himself off with a yelp as he felt the searing pain of the buckshot grazing his skin. 

One shot down, three to go. 

The second shot was a direct hit to his upper arm, it tore through the flesh and had him gasping in pain. The third and final shots followed in quick succession, one grazed the side of his torso, the other blasted through his upper thigh. 

Jesse fell to the ground, he was vaguely aware that he was screaming in pain. It had been a while since he was shot up so bad. Gabriel caught him before he face planted and smoke was curling around him. 

“You sure know how to shoot a man,” Jesse said hoarsely, trying to not think about the searing pain in his shoulder, arm, and leg. 

“Sure do,” Gabriel said, business face on as smoke wrapped around Jesse, seemingly packing the wounds. “I’m taking your comm.”

“Wha--” was all Jesse got off before Gabriel ripped the comm from his ear and picked his mask up off of the ground. “ _ Gabriel, no _ ,” Jesse hissed as he figured out what Gabriel was doing. “ _ This is a bad idea _ .”

Gabriel placed the mask back on his face and spoke a few words to make sure the vocal distortion was on. When he was confident that it was working, he put the comm into his ear, switched on the mic, and spoke. “This is the Reaper. Come and get your commander before I change my mind.” His voice was cold and impersonal, made worse by the growling effects of the mask. 

Gabriel switched off the mic and put the comm back into Jesse’s ear in time for him to hear the simultaneous audio feeds from the strike team. He made a motion to reply when Gabriel leaned down, took off his mask, and kissed him deeply, and forced smoke down into his lungs. 

The smoke was different than the one Gabriel had filled his lungs with when they had fucked. No, it was more similar to anesthesia. 

“I love you,” Gabriel said when he broke off the kiss and backed away. “The smoke will knock you out in a few seconds. Your team should be able to ping your location, but i’ll be nearby just in case.”

Jesse tried to reply, but his mouth was numb. His entire body was numb actually, the searing pain of the gunshots gone. Quickly, he was asleep, wounds bleeding and breathing shallow. 

\---

The next thing Jesse knew, he was awake in the infirmary, heart monitor beeping, biotic field humming, and an iv plugged into his veins. His arm, shoulder, and leg ached, but there was no burning pain in them. 

“You're awake,” a voice that Jesse didn't want to hear said. 

“Yup, good observation, Hanzo,” Jesse replied dryly. “Gonna tell me I got shot next?”

“No, I think you already have learned of your own ineptitude,” Hanzo said as he inspected a nail. “I was planning on asking if you knew that there were two demons in that Talon force actually.”

Jesse’s eyes widened, “Dunno what you’re talkin’ about,” he lied. 

Hanzo rolled his eyes, “There’s no cameras here, we’re alone.” Hanzo looked up from his nails and locked eyes with Jesse, “How do you know them?”

Jesse let out a hissing breath through his teeth, “They’re moles within Talon.”

Hanzo nodded as if he had expected that, “How do you know them?” He asked again. 

“I don't know if I trust you enough to answer that,” Jesse said slowly. 

“I will tell no one,” Hanzo said.

“I’m… Working with them,” Jesse said after a moment. “I can't tell you who they truly are, but me, them, and two other supernaturals are workin’ together.”

“Is Reaper one of them?” Hanzo asked. 

Jesse debated just not responding, but knew that would give Hanzo the answer he was looking for. “Yeah,” Jesse said. “I told him to shoot me.”

“What were you doing before he shot you?”

Jesse ground his teeth, “Business.”

Hanzo raised an eyebrow but didn't ask further. Instead he changed the topic, “Doctor Ziegler has raised questions about your temperature, heart rate, and blood results.”

Jesse swore, “ _ Fuck _ , I didn't think about this.”

“I’ve taken care of it for now,” Hanzo continued on. “You’re welcome.”

Jesse narrowed his eyes, “What did you do?”

“I’m able to mentally manipulate people,” Hanzo shrugged. “I can't make her completely forget about the results of your blood test, but I can make her think it’s not an issue.” Hanzo stood up to leave the room. “You’re walking on thin ice, Jesse McCree. Be careful because you're not the only one falling under when you break it.”

Before Jesse could respond, Hanzo was gone. He wasn't alone for long, though, Winston quickly took Hanzo’s place. 

“Jesse,” Winston said apologetically. “I know you’re still recovering, but Hanzo let me know that you finally woke up, and I need to debrief with you on your Reaper meeting.”

Jesse winced, “Sure was a meeting.”

“That it was,” Winston said. “I ran over the footage of Reaper from your visor before he destroyed it, and I wanted to discuss it with you.”

Jesse hissed out a breath as he sat up, “What’s up with it?”

“Well,” Winston began, pulling up the video on the tablet. “I think I might have an idea as to who the Reaper is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took longer to get up than I expected lmao, I've gotten rly caught up in planning another werewolf au (which, if you're interested, there's a fic up for it on my ao3 already -- Venomous) and also being back home from university means family time  
> The next chapters should start coming out quicker, this is the beginning of the end and things are about to get Bad  
> \---  
> Follow me on social media @smalls2233


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse's carefully crafted web of lies starts to crumble around him

Jesse stared at Winston, shock coloring his features. “You what now?”

“The visor tech was able to get the height and build of Reaper, not his vitals though, which is a strange malfunction. I’m going to reconfigure that later on so--” Winston cut himself off with an embarrassed chuckle. “Sorry, that’s not important right now. But anyway, the run in I had with him has still been bothering me, I feel like I  _ know  _ him, so I ran his build data through the database of old Overwatch and Blackwatch agents.”

Jesse blanched, “Did you see anythin’?”

“Well, a lot of agents were 6’1 but I was able to cross a few of them, like you, off the list,” Winston readjusted his glasses and brushed through the video until he got near the end. “But it’s this interaction that really helped me realize who Reaper probably is.”

“Can you really be certain that the build of Reaper and two interactions can tell you who he is?” Jesse tried to force his voice to sound normal. 

“It’s my hypothesis at the very least,” Winston shrugged and pressed play on the video. “But look at this, this Talon operative was going to shoot you, he  _ saved  _ you, Jesse.”

“Saved me so he could kill me himself?” Jesse asked. “He’s been targetin’ ex-Overwatch agents, makes sense that he wouldn't want some Talon goon to get the glory.”

Winston shook his head, “Maybe, but I don’t think that’s it. He called in, made sure that you would be rescued. He shot you, but they weren't lethal shots, beyond scars I don't think there will be any lasting damage.”

“Maybe he wanted to leave a message?”

“Also the flair for the dramatics, the costumes,” Winston continued on. “Did you know that neither Jack Morrison’s nor Gabriel Reyes’ bodies were recovered from the rubble in the Swiss headquarters?”

“Winston, Jack and Ga-- Reyes are  _ dead _ . Maybe bodies weren't recovered, but there's no way they got out of the blast,” Jesse protested. 

Winston shook his head, “Jesse, I think that Gabriel Reyes is alive, and he’s Reaper.”

“It’s not possible.”

“There’s too much that lines up now that I'm thinking about it. The flare for the dramatics,  the costumes, the weapons -- nobody else could handle shotguns one handed, the way that he’s, and there’s no other way to put this,  _ sentimental  _ about you.”

“Why would Reyes be sentimental about me? We were never together, he was my commander, and I left Blackwatch, betrayed him,” Jesse knew that he sounded defensive. 

“Jesse, did you see the way he looked at you?” Winston asked. “Even if I’m wrong about how he felt about you -- how  _ you  _ felt about him,” a pointed look was directed at Jesse. “You were his number two, and that has to have meant something to him.”

“Winston, there was nothing between us back then. He was my boss, that’s the end of it,” Jesse said as he ran a hand through his hair. “It’s just… It’s just not possible that Reyes is alive.”

“I really think it is,” Winston said. “I think Jack might be too,” he pulled up another file on his tablet and Jesse felt his stomach lurch at the sight. It was a collection of images and extrapolated potential builds of Soldier: 76. “I know I said that I was going to let you do this, but you know how I get when I'm on a roll, I just can't stop myself,” Winston laughed sheepishly. 

“For better or for worse,” Jesse tried to laugh, he might have gotten a single ha out before his throats clenched up. 

“But I was thinking that if Gabriel Reyes were still alive, then what about Jack?” Winston pulled up some more documents and laid them side by side with the info on 76. “The height is identical, 76 might be slightly thinner than Jack, but the years have passed by and he’s been on the run, so that can be easily accounted for. Weapon too, heavy pulse rifles aren't uncommon but nobody was as incredible with them as Jack was.” Information on the weapons flashed on screen as Winston tapped around.

“You’re saying that Jack Morrison is a fuckin’ vigilante?” Jesse asked.

Winston nodded, “The way that 76 operates screams Jack, now that I’m thinking of him potentially being alive. He doesn't kill anybody he doesn't have to, the weapon kit is similar to what Jack worked with, these weapons aren't ending up on the black market. I'm certain that 76 is Jack.”

“Then what would the connection between 76 and Reaper be? Sometimes they look like they're working together, other times they're not,” Jesse was desperate, he hadn't expected Winston to put the pieces of the puzzle together. 

Winston hummed, “I’m not sure. That’s the part that’s stumping me.” He scratched his chin as he pulled up some more documents on the tablet. “I can't tell if 76 was following and assisting Reaper for the longest time in this stretch of raids,” he pulled up a list of raids, the same ones that Jesse had been tracking that finally let him meet up with Gabriel. “This one near Deadlock was interesting,” Winston added and Jesse froze. “Tech was stolen but bodily fluids were found all over the Watchpoint.”

“That sure is strange,” Jesse said slowly. 

“It is!” Winston agreed. “But that’s almost a  non issue, if you look at the strangeness of their interactions with each other. One raid they'll be helping each other, the next fighting. It seems to have gotten worse after Reaper paired up with Talon, but it’s bizarre.”

“Have you considered that Reyes and Jack are dead, and Reaper and 76 are completely unrelated to them?”

Winston gave Jesse a look, “Jesse, there are too many similarities to discount this.”

“Winston, there are too many other issues to prove it. The main issue being  _ Jack and Reyes are dead _ ,” Jesse protested. “And if they were alive, them working together would make no sense. They hated each other, Reyes  _ killed _ people.”

“Jesse, are you sure that your emotions aren't getting in the way of this?” Winston asked gently. “Weirder things have happened than people who we thought were dead turning out to be alive. I’m a super intelligent gorilla for heaven's sake.”

“It’s just, it’s not possible, Winston,” Jesse said. “They’re  _ dead _ .”

“Look, Jesse, I’m certain that this is them. I’m going to move forward with a plan to try to lure 76 out. If he is Jack Morrison, then we stand to gain a valuable ally.”

Jesse held back a sigh, “I can have Blackwatch take care of it.” 

“That would be fantastic, Jesse. I’ll send the files I have over to you so you can work on a plan,” Winston nodded. “I appreciate you trying to look from the other perspective on this, but I’m certain of their identities. I’ll leave you to get some more rest, though,” he said, starting to walk out of the room. “You’re healing quickly, but you've still got a ways to go. Do you need some more pain medication?”

Jesse was half tempted to accept the medication, to numb the pain and let him fall into a medicated sleep. But he knew that he needed to get in contact with Gabriel and Jack immediately, let them know Winston had figured out half of their game.

“No, no I’m fine, Winston,” Jesse said. “Lettin’ me run to my room so I could grab my tablet wouldn't be remiss, though.”

“You’re in no shape to be running out the infirmary, Jesse,” Winston said. “But I could have someone run to your room to grab it, if you’d like.”

“Could I wheel out of the infirmary?” Jesse asked. “I wanna pick up some of my paperwork as well, and some of it is highly classified.”

Winston considered it for a moment as he checked on Jesse’s vitals and wounds, “I guess it couldn't hurt,” he said. “Your wounds are looking much better, surprisingly so.”

“How long was I out for?” Jesse asked. 

“Two days,” Winston replied. “But it looks like you've had a week’s worth of healing. Is Angela trying something new on you to accelerate healing?”

“Dunno,” Jesse shrugged.

“I’ll ask her about it later, but if this keeps up, you should be out of here in a day or two,” Winston said as he looked around the infirmary, trying to find a wheelchair. “I’d rather you have someone go with you, just in case. I have a meeting I need to run to, though.”

Jesse held back a sigh of relief, he didn't want Winston asking more questions. “I need to talk with Hanzo again,” he offered. “Could you see if he could come with?”

“Wasn't he just here?” Winston asked. 

Jesse winced, ”Yeah, but I just realized that there were a few things about his recent training that I wanted to discuss with him, especially after the last mission.” He hoped that his lie was convincing enough. In reality, he knew that Hanzo was the only person on base he could talk to about Winston catching on to Gabriel. 

Winston nodded, “Makes sense, I’ll send for him.”

Jesse breathed a sigh of relief when Winston left the room. He hadn't been prepared for anybody to put together Reaper’s identity yet. He ran through situations in his mind for a better way he could have handled Dorado, if he shouldn't have faced Gabriel.

There hadn't been a better solution, though. Gabriel had to keep up appearances as Reaper, and so if anyone else had seen him, they would have come out seriously wounded or injured. If they hadn't, well then there would have been a whole new host of questions about Reaper on the side of Overwatch as well as Talon. 

The door slid open, “Did you really miss me that much?” Hanzo asked as he walked into the room. 

“We need to talk.”

“Is it really about my training and mission behavior or something else entirely?”

“I need you to take me to my room so I can get in touch with who I'm working with,” was Jesse’s response. 

Hanzo raised an eyebrow, “What happened?”

Jesse sighed through his nose, “Winston figured out the identities of Soldier: 76 and the Reaper.”

“Has he realized anything else about them that would lead him on the path of the supernatural?” Hanzo asked, face serious. 

“No, no I don't think he'll go there,” Jesse said. “Winston’s a man of science, he’s not gonna think vampire and demon when he thinks of 76 and Reaper.”

“You know a vampire?”

“Yeah, intim--” Jesse cut himself off before he could make a mistake. “Yeah, I know him.”

“Explains then marks on your neck and shoulders,” Hanzo scoffed and Jesse’s face went beet red. 

“Look--” Jesse started. 

“I can assure you, I really don't care to hear your excuses about this.”

Jesse rolled his eyes and went back to what he had been trying to say, “Anyway, what I’m concerned the most about is that Winston wants to try to lure 76 out, he thinks we have a valuable ally to gain from him.”

“Who is he?”

“Jack Morrison,” Jesse said after a moment’s consideration. “Reaper is Gabriel Reyes.”

“Aren't they supposed to be dead?”

“Didn't take,” Jesse replied. “I need to warn Jack about the plan to lure him out, and tell the both of them about Winston figuring out their identities.”

“Which one are you fucking?” Hanzo asked cooly. 

The flush returned to Jesse’s face in full force, “You can't just-- I would, I would never-- the fact that you're even  _ asking _ me this is highly inappropriate,” he stammered. 

“Both of them?”

“I’m in a relationship with Gabe,” Jesse wanted to die. 

Hanzo raised an eyebrow but dropped the subject. “So why are you telling me about this?” He asked. “You had been so loathe to tell me their identities not even an hour ago.”

“Can you do your mind magic shit to make Winston forget about this?”

Hanzo scowled, “I told you, I can't make people simply  _ forget _ about things. It’s more of a persuasion ability. If I can catch them in a thought early enough, I can persuade them to think about something else. They never forget about it, and the magic will snap if there’s a big enough push.”

“So make Winston think about something else.”

“Are you stupid?” Hanzo asked. “The fact that he came to you to discuss this theory means that it’s rooted deeply in his mind. There’s no persuading him to look the other way or making him forget.”

Jesse scowled and growled deep in his throat, “ _ Fine _ , then help me into this wheelchair so I can get my phone and discuss this with Gabe and Jack.”

Jesse stumbled when he forced himself off the bed and to a standing position. While his leg didn't completely buckle under his weight, his thigh burned as the skin of the still healing wound stretched. He hissed in pain as he reached to steady himself. 

“Sit down,” Hanzo ordered softly as he pulled the wheelchair up behind Jesse.

Jesse quickly sat down, eager to get the weight off of his painful leg. He was surprised that it could even handle weight, though. Gabriel had shot off a massive chunk of flesh, potentially some muscle as well. Two days under a biotic field shouldn't have been enough to get him to this point, and he was grateful for the rapid healing abilities being a werewolf granted him. 

“Ready?” Hanzo asked, hand on the back of Jesse’s wheelchair. 

“Ready and rarin’. You think you can use your persuasion magic shit to persuade people to ignore us? I don't wanna deal with get well wishes and questions about why I’m out of the infirmary.”

Hanzo laughed, it was a genuine laugh. Jesse found that he didn't hate it, “I think I could do that, Jesse McCree.”

It was like Hanzo cast a bubble around them as they walked through the halls unnoticed. They passed inches away from friends, and there was not even a flicker of recognition on their faces. Jesse found himself almost holding his breath, afraid to ruin whatever spell Hanzo cast on them. 

Jesse breathed a sigh of relief when they finally got to his room. “You gotta teach me how to do that,” he said as he wheeled over to where he had put his modified flashbang before the mission. 

“I can teach you how to do it as much as you can teach me how to turn into a dog,” Hanzo replied dryly. 

“First off, I don't turn into a dog” Jesse said as he opened up the flashbang and pulled out his phone. “Secondly, point taken.”

Jesse dialed up Gabriel’s number and waited for him to pick up the phone. It only took until the third ring for Gabriel to answer with a worried, “Jesse?”

“Hey babe,” Jesse replied. “I've got a bit of a situation here.”

“What type of situation?” Gabriel asked. 

Jesse exhaled sharply, “Winston’s figured out that you and Jack are still alive.”

Gabriel swore, “Has he put together anything else?”

“No, thank God for that,” Jesse said. “The vid feed from Dorado let him put everything together about your identity. Then, because he figured that if you're alive, then Jack could be as well, and threw the pieces together about Jack.”

“God dammit,” Gabriel spat. “What gave me away?”

“Weapons, costume, your build, and being sentimental about me. So basically everything,” Jesse shrugged. “Not a whole lot you could have done to avoid this.”

“So what’s the plan?” Gabriel asked. “Shoot Winston?”

“Babe I can't tell if you're joking.”

“I’m joking, mostly.”

“Okay, well aside from killing somebody who I consider a friend. I’m at a loss,” Jesse sighed. “I can keep trying to work on getting heat thrown off of you, but that's what I've been trying to do and you've still been figured out.”

“I can  _ try _ to get Winston to think less about this,” Hanzo offered. “It won't be effective, but I can attempt to distract him.”

“Jesse, who’s that?” Gabriel asked, tone guarded. 

“Hanzo,” Jesse sighed. “Unfortunately, we’re working together.”

“ _ Unfortunately _ ?” Hanzo asked at the same time Gabriel asked, “Working together?”

“Don't have a lot of other options here, babe,” Jesse said. “But gettin’ back to the point, the heat’s gonna be on you and Jack,” he paused for a moment in thought. “Is Jack there?”

“Jack’s here,” Jack answered. 

“Hey,” Jesse said. “You hear all that?”

“Yup.”

“Cool, so this part’s pertinent to you. Winston wants to draw you out, sees you as a potential ally to be gained.”

“That’s not good,” Jack mused. 

“No it ain't,” Jesse agreed. “I offered to head this, and Winston agreed. But I also agreed to head figurin’ out who 76 and Reaper were, and Winston went ahead and figured it out himself.”

“We’ll be careful,” Gabriel said. 

“Jack might want to lay low for a bit,” Jesse said as he stroked his beard. “I’ll tell y'all about any plans that I make for this or if any more’s put together.”

“I’ll try my best to keep thoughts about you two to a minimum,” Hanzo offered. “But I’m only one demon and I’ll be stretched thin as is keeping people’s minds off of McCree’s behavior.”

Jesse furrowed his brow, “My behavior?”

“The full moon’s coming and if last month was any indication, you’re not yourself around that time,” Hanzo said. “People were asking about your sickness, and it’s going to happen again.”

Jesse huffed out a sigh, “Here I thought goin’ back to Overwatch would be easy.”

“Life’s never that simple, pup,” Gabriel said. “You’re doing the best you can, though. It’s no one’s fault that Winston’s putting this together.”

“I’m just worried that Winston won't be the last,” Jesse replied.

“You’ll figure it out,” Jack said. “We’ll prep for worst case at any rate. Let us know about any developments.”

“Can do, sweetheart,” Jesse replied. “Could y'all see if Sombra can tamper with the databases too. Keep them from being able dig too deeply?”

“I’ll give her a call,” Gabriel said. “I’ll see you soon, Jesse.”

“Love you,” Jesse said as he hung up the phone. He dragged a hand down his face and groaned loudly. “How has this all gone so wrong so fast?”

“Don't ask me,” Hanzo shrugged. “I’m already worn thin trying to keep people from asking too many questions.”

“How does that work?” Jesse asked. “Like, how do you recharge and shit?”

“Like any other demon?” Hanzo sounded confused. “Don't you know two others?”

“Gabe is… different,” Jesse said.

Hanzo raised an eyebrow but didn't question further, instead he explained, “When I overuse my magic, I get tired and lethargic. Eventually if I go on overusing it, I’ll get sickly and weak. Recharging usually means loads of sleep and not using any of it.”

“How are you feeling now?”

“Tired and I have a headache.”

“Sorry,” Jesse apologized. 

Hanzo grunted a reply that Jesse chose to interpret as “It’s okay,” though he knew realistically it was something closer to “Your fault, jackass.”

Jesse wheeled around his room to the best of his ability in order to scoop up his tablet and snatch a pile of paperwork from where it laid on his nightstand. 

“Have you ever heard of a hamper?” Hanzo asked, kicking at a dirty shirt that laid next to Jesse’s bed. 

“Have you ever heard of minding your own business?” Jesse snapped. “Besides, you’re the one trampling around my room with shoes on.”

“I thought Americans didn't care about that,” Hanzo said. 

“This one does when you’re criticizing his bedroom,” Jesse rolled his eyes. “I do have a hamper anyway, that shirt’s still clean.”

“It’s laying on your floor.”

“Yeah, it’s not clean enough to go back into my drawers, but too clean to go in my hamper.”

“I’ll never understand you,” Hanzo shook his head in disapproval. 

“Feelin’s mutual, Hanzo,” Jesse laughed.

Jesse balanced the stack of papers and tablet on his lap as he spun around in the wheelchair to face the door. Hanzo wasn't the only one with a headache, Jesse felt one beginning to throb at the back of his head. The stress of the situation was killing him and he wasn't sure how much longer it would be until the house of cards that was his lies collapsed under the scrutiny of Overwatch. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on all forms of social media @smalls2233 if you want constant screaming about mcreyes


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything continues crashing down

Jesse’s headache only got worse as the full moon approached. Thankfully, he didn't feel nearly as awful as he had the previous month, but his head still ached and he wanted nothing more than to curl up in his bed and sleep.

His head wasn't the only thing aching as well, despite the full moon still being several days away, his jaw and teeth ached and he was desperate for something to chew down on. When he was alone in his room he grabbed a chunk of wood that he had hid away and chewed away, trying to sate the urge to bite.

Overall, it was a combination that made him miserable to deal with. He found himself snappish and moody, after each training session and meeting he went straight back to his room.

It was after one of those training sessions that he was stopped in the hallway by Hanzo who looked at him with concern in his eyes.

“Are you alright, McCree?” He asked, hand on Jesse’s shoulder.

It took all of Jesse’s willpower not to shake Hanzo off, “I’m fine,” he lied. He ran a hand through his hair, part of it swept back under a headband so it would stay out of his eyes while training, and sighed. “I’m not fine, my head hurts, my jaw hurts, an’ I’m hungrier than I ought to be.”

“Hungrier?” Hanzo cocked his head to the side in question.

“Yeah, full moon makes me fuckin’ starving. Wasn’t that bad last month on account a me wantin’ to vomit at the sight of food,” as if on cue, his stomach growled. “I can't eat as much as I need to. I already eat more than any human should as is. Nobody should see me scarfin’ down like two fuckin’ chickens in five minutes.”

“You’ve eaten two chickens in five minutes?” Hanzo asked.

“What? No, that was an exaggeration, Hanzo,” Jesse replied. “I just need a lot more food than I've been gettin’ is all.”

“I can bring you my share of food,” Hanzo offered.

“Your share? What would you eat?”

“I… don't?” Hanzo said. “Demons don't need to eat, you’re in a relationship with one. How do you not know that?”

“Gabe still eats food,” Jesse shrugged, thinking back to the times when he walked into the kitchen on base at midnight to see Gabe sitting in front of the fridge, eating whatever food he found in there. “I guess he just does it ‘cause he’s bored or old habits.”

Hanzo closed and opened his mouth a few times, “I’m concerned,” he finally said.

“Ain't no cause for you to worry about,” Jesse said. “You sure you don't have to eat, though?”

“I have been a demon for over a decade, McCree,” Hanzo said as if he were talking to a small child. “I know what I do or do not need to do.”

“Well, there ain't no way in hell I’m complainin’ about more food. I’m tired of always bein’ starving,” Jesse laughed. “I should invest in a mini fridge that I keep stocked with snacks, pretty sure Gabe had one back in the day.”

Hanzo raised an eyebrow, “Why’s that?”

“God he was constantly snacking. Once he was chewin’ me out for me endangering the lives of my team members on a stunt that barely worked and he was munchin’ on a bag of chips at the same time,” Jesse said as he grinned at the memory. “I think it was because of SEP junk, but goddamn was that man snacky. Still is.”

“The company you keep sure is interesting,” Hanzo said. “But I’ll try to get you my share of food, see if that helps at all.”

“I appreciate it, Hanzo,” Jesse said, sighing. “Trying to pretend to be human sucks.”

Hanzo shrugged, “After a while, you get used to it.”

“I got used to being on the lam, didn't make it suck any less,” Jesse snapped then winced. “Sorry, moon brain. But still, just ‘cause you get used to somethin’ doesn't make it better, just means you’re good at lyin’ to yourself.”

“I suppose so,” Hanzo sighed. “Look, I have to meet up with Genji shortly, but I will go run by the mess hall and get something to take to you.”

“Appreciate it,” Jesse said. “I’m gonna go chew on a stick and try to get some sleep.”

“I’m not even going to ask,” Hanzo’s eyes narrowed as he shook his head.

“You don't wanna know,” Jesse laughed. “I’ll see you at trainin’ later, yeah? I’m doing a demo with Fareeha.”

Hanzo stared at him, his strange eyes boring holes in Jesse. “Are you sure that’s smart to do right now?” He asked.

“It’s fine, I ain't a new wolf no more, I can control myself.”

Hanzo shook his head slightly, “I don't want you ruining everything for me.”

Jesse bit back a nasty reply. “It’ll be fine, Hanzo. Have faith in me.”

“I’ll bring you food shortly,” Hanzo said, ignoring Jesse. “Try not to transform. I don't want to see what Overwatch does to supernaturals.”

A growl bubbled up in the back of Jesse’s throat. Hanzo had been better, but still infuriated him. Jesse shook his head to clear his mind and walked off, waving with his metal hand. The other was curled into a fist and he felt sharp claws gouging holes in the flesh.

When he was out of sight of Hanzo, Jesse inhaled deeply as he tried to will his claws to go away. He grit his teeth and leaned against the wall. He _should_ have been able to his shifting. He was certain that he wasn't going to transform in the middle of a demo but Hanzo had gotten in his head.

Jesse chewed on his lips as he stood there in the hallway. It was blessedly empty and he was trying to quell his internal panic. He ran through every potential scenario in his head, they all led to him being experimented on and Gabriel found out. Gabriel killed. Nobody would listen to him, Jesse thought, they would see him as a beast, a monster, and Gabriel as evil.

He felt his teeth shift as his thoughts continued to descend down into a pit. He thought of what groups like Talon were doing to supernaturals and pictures Overwatch doing that. Realistically, he knew that Angela would never stand behind anything like that, that Winston would rather die than let experimentation like that happen. But he couldn't stop thinking about being forced to bite people, being monitored as he shifted, as he went through ruts.

His breathing picked up as he panicked and he felt blood drip down his palm. He needed to stop thinking of it. He needed to think of anything besides being found out.

So instead he thought of Gabriel, how Gabriel stood by him during each forced shift, how when Jesse couldn't control his shifts, he would shift with him. How Gabriel talked him through his shifts. The thoughts of Gabriel grounded him, brought him back to reality.

His claws gradually turned back into nails and his teeth returned to normal. It took longer for his breathing to calm down, the panic still bubbled slightly in his gut. He was going to strangle Hanzo later for planting the thoughts in his mind.

“Jesse, love?” A tentative voice asked. “Are you okay?”

Jesse turned to face the source of the question. Lena was standing at the edge of the hallway, concern plastered on her face. “I’m okay, sugar,” Jesse replied, voice rough and breathing still uneven. The drying blood felt tacky on his palm as he tried to wipe it off on his jeans. “You know how I’ve always been,” he tried to laugh. The sound sounded fake and creaky. “Just somethin’ reminded me of the past, I’m good now.”

Lena walked towards him, uncharacteristically slow. “Do you need to talk about it?” She asked gently as she approached him, resting a hand on his arm.

Jesse tried not to flinch at the contact, “You wouldn't want to hear about it.”

“Jesse, I want to be here for you,” Lena said. “You helped me out back in the beginning, I want to return the favor.”

“It ain’t no thing no more,” Jesse replied. “I’m good now, just had to shove the thoughts back in the box where they belong.”

Lena’s brows knit together as she stared at him, “Are you talking to a psych about this?” She asked.

“Nah, I’ve got a handle on it.”

“Jesse…”

“Lena, sweetheart, I’ve been dealin’ with this shit since I was a teenager. I’m good.”

“I don't think having a panic attack in the middle of a hallway classifies as good, love.”

“Sure as hell’s better than havin’ one in the middle of a battlefield,” Jesse laughed, trying to deflect. “Believe me, sweetheart, I’m all good.”

“Jesse, are you ever going to talk about your problems, or are you going to just keep pushing people away from learning about them?”

“I don't know what you’re talkin’ about.”

Lena’s grip was gentle, but firm, on his arm as she said, “Every time somebody tries to talk about anything with you, you deflect with a joke. Angie, Fareeha, and I are worried about you, Jesse.”

“I’m _fine_ ,” Jesse snapped. “I don't got problems that should worry y’all, I can handle them on my own.”

“You don't _have to_ , though!” Lena protested. “We’re here to support each other, Jesse. You’re not alone. We’re not going to betray you, we’re not Gabriel Reyes.”

“You know _nothing_ about Gabriel Reyes,” Jesse snarled as he shook Lena off of him. “I don't need help dealin’ with this, I’m fine.”

“Jesse, wait,” Lena called as Jesse stomped off. She blinked in front of him, but Jesse roughly shoved her out of his way.

“Just leave me be,” Jesse ground out. “I don't need no help.”

“We all need help, you don't know how many times I've woken up at night, screaming because of my nightmares.”

“Lena.”

“Jesse, shut _up_ and listen to me. Some nights, I can't sleep because of the faces of everybody I’ve lost flashing before me. My fears of being lost in time again. Of Emily being taken from me.”

“You wouldn't understand my fears.”

“No, you’re right. I wouldn't understand because I don't think you trust anybody enough to tell them the truth anymore. Not after Gabriel betrayed everyone, betrayed _you_.”

“Fine? You want the truth?” Jesse snapped. “I’m a werewolf, my boyfriend is a demon, the two of us sometimes sleep with a vampire. We’re helped out by another demon and a harpy. The full moon’s coming up soon and I’m suffering in pain because of it.”

Lena’s eyes narrowed, “Unbelievable. I can't believe that you’re still acting like this, Jesse.”

Jesse exhaled sharply, “How about you leave me be so I can go to my room and take a fuckin’ nap so I can ignore the poundin’ in my head?”

“ _Fine_ ,” Lena spat. Jesse had never seen her this angry before. “Go take a nap like the child you’re acting like.” She punched the wall and Jesse ignored her as he walked down the hall to his room.

When Jesse got back to his quarters, he immediately stripped and shifted. He snarled as he grabbed hold of a pillow and tore into it. Feathers flew everywhere as he ripped the pillow apart. He wanted to howl, to run freely, but instead he was stuck in his room, the only place he could shift freely.

Jesse snarled as he stomped across his room. It felt too small, too confining. He scrounged through his room as he tried to find his phone. He needed to talk to Gabriel, to get his mind off of things. Talking with Lena had just made him feel worse, and he only had a couple of hours before he needed to do a demo with Fareeha.

Jesse found his phone and dialed Gabriel. He answered on the first ring, “Jesse what’s up?”

“Ground me, right now,” Jesse said, voice rough thanks to being shifted.

“What’s wrong?” Concern dripped from Gabriel’s voice.

Jesse explained the situation, and Gabriel’s tone was dark when he finally responded. “I’m gonna kill Hanzo.”

“I just don’t get it,” Jesse said. “He’s offering to help one moment, then saying shit like that the next.”

“He’s a moron,” Gabriel spat. “At least Lena was genuinely trying to help you.”

“Her concern scares me,” Jesse admitted. “I don't know how to handle it.”

“People caring about you?”

Jesse sighed, “Yeah. It’s just-- I don't deserve it. Not before, definitely not now, not that I’m _lyin_ ’ to everyone.”

“You’re lying out of necessity.”

“Yeah but it fuckin’ sucks. Lena’s so genuinely _worried_ about a person like me.”

“Jesse, you’re not a bad person.”

“You think so?” Jesse laughed bitterly. “All I've ever done in life is hurt people. First with Deadlock, then when I left you in Blackwatch the first time.”

“Jesse, you’re one of the best people I know,” Gabriel said. “You fucked up as a kid, yeah, but you’ve made up for it. I can't blame you for leaving Blackwatch. You’re one of the best people I know, Jesse. You deserve people who care and worry about you.”

“What if they drop me when they see how broken I am inside, though?” Jesse asked, voice weak. “Gabe, I don't think I’d be alive right now if I hadn't found you again.”

“Jesse,” Gabriel said softly, gently.

“I just, I’m _terrified_ , Gabe. There’s my personal problems on one hand, and then the wolf shit on another. What if they find out and experiment on me?”

“Overwatch isn't Talon.”

“But I’m not _human_ , Gabe.”

“Neither is Winston, and he’s leading this show now,” Gabriel pointed out. “He was made to be an experiment, he wouldn't force that on someone else.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right,” Jesse admitted. “I’m just scared, babe.”

“I know, believe it or not, I am too,” Gabriel said. “The shit I’m doing with Talon is disgusting,” his voice went quiet as he continued on. “I've had to kill so many people whose crimes were just that Talon disliked what they were doing. But I have to do it to take Talon down.”

Jesse swallowed hard, “We’re two fucked up guys, aren't we?”

“Yeah,” Gabriel laughed. “When all this is done, we’re getting a cabin in the woods somewhere and the only thing we hurt is the animals you kill to eat.”

Jesse let out a shaky laugh, “Sounds good to me, sweetheart. I’ve had enough violence for a lifetime.”

\---

Okay, maybe it wasn't enough violence for a lifetime. Exhilaration and joy ran through Jesse’s veins as grinned wide and stared Fareeha down, blood dripped down his nose and bruises were blossoming on Fareeha’s arms. The two had been sparring for fifteen minutes, warming up for their demo later. Jesse had been holding back, but Fareeha had still managed to land a few surprise strikes on him.

Jesse felt Hanzo’s eyes on him as Hanzo practiced his archery. Anger was still simmering in Jesse’s gut at the thought of what Hanzo had said to him earlier, but he was able to shove it aside as he stared Fareeha down.

He could smell Lena still fresh on Fareeha’s skin, letting him know that Lena had probably talked with Fareeha shortly before their session -- most likely about him. He ignored it as he flashed his teeth at Fareeha, “You about ready to give up, sweetheart?”

Fareeha laughed, dark eyes flashing in joy -- Jesse wasn't the only one with a love for fighting. “Jesse, you’re gonna be face down on the mat soon enough.”

Jesse raised an eyebrow as he easily dodged a kick. “With attacks like that? Maybe if I trip over my own feet dodging them.” He let a few lightning quick punches fly, Fareeha had blocked most of them, but a few landed on her stomach.

Fareeha wheezed as she charged Jesse. She rammed her shoulder into Jesse’s stomach and he curled over and tried to grab Fareeha’s head, but she dodged his grip. “Fuck, your stomach’s hard,” Fareeha laughed as she jumped back.

“Almost as hard as your shoulders,” Jesse winced as he caught his breath. Fareeha didn't give him much time to do that, though. She came charging forward again, shooting punches that Jesse barely blocked.

Jesse whacked Fareeha sharply on the side of her head, and she spun off, wincing in pain. Jesse continued forward with his push, landing punches and kicks that Fareeha was too dazed to block or dodge.

“You gonna give?” Jesse taunted.

“Never,” Fareeha said, she swung a punch at Jesse and it was like the world went into slow motion as he watched her scrape her fist on his teeth and, as if on autopilot, he bit down at the taste of her blood on his tongue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took a bit longer to make... I've been distracted by a bunch of other things (like the summer event & how much I love lifeguard jesse... as you can see by the other fic I'm working on which is much cuter and happier, if you need something to cheer you up while jesse's world falls apart around him go read that haha)  
> \---  
> Follow me online @smalls2233 if you want to see me being super thirsty for lifeguard jesse


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rumor Come Out: Does Jesse McCree is Werewolf?

Jesse leapt back, as if struck by a live wire when he realized what he had just done. He felt his hand shaking, claws threatening to burst free, and it took all of his willpower to keep them hidden. 

Fareeha looked at him, “Jesse? What’s wrong?” She asked.

Jesse was breathing was short, quick, panicked breaths as he stared at Fareeha, eyes wide. “I bit you,” he whispered. He felt his back muscles twitching, anxious to shift and he tried to calm himself down.

“Yeah?” Fareeha asked as she inspected her fist. “I was the one who punched you in the teeth though.”

“You don't understand,” Jesse nearly sobbed. He needed to get out, to run away and hide before anybody could question him, before he shifted. 

“Jesse, I’m going to get Angela, you’re not acting like yourself,” Fareeha said calmly. 

“ _ No _ ,” Jesse snapped. “You can't get her. I just, I just gotta make a phone call.”

“Jesse,” Fareeha started but was cut off by Hanzo storming over. 

“Get Angela to sedate him,” Hanzo growled. “As soon as possible.”

“Don't you fuckin’ sedate me,” Jesse snarled. “I need to make a call, everything will be alright. I just need to make a call. Figure something out.”

Jesse tried to storm out of the room, but he was held back by Hanzo who wrapped his strong arms around him. He thrashed, trying to break free from Hanzo’s grip, but it was strong and firm. 

“ _ Calm down before you shift _ ,” Hanzo hissed into his ear. 

Jesse was beyond listening or caring as he continued to thrash in Hanzo’s grip. A decidedly inhuman growl bubbled from his lips. “Get off of me,” he snarled, throwing his head back to try and hit Hanzo in the nose. 

“Calm  _ down _ .”

“ _ Fuck off _ , I ruined everything. I fucked up.”

“Fareeha, get Angela,” Hanzo ground out. 

“Tell me what’s going on first.”

“I don't have time. Just fucking get her.”

Fareeha stared at him for a moment before nodding and bolting off. When Hanzo and Jesse were alone in the room, Hanzo threw Jesse to the side and screamed, “What did I tell you?”

“This is  _ your _ fault,” Jesse growled.

“How is this my fault? It seems to me like you overestimated your ability to control yourself,” Hanzo sneered. 

“ _ You _ fucked with me. Your little ‘I don't want to see what Overwatch does to supernaturals?’ Really tasteful, really doesn't play on my fears.”

“It was a joke.”

“I don't  _ fuckin’ care _ ,” Jesse screamed as he charged Hanzo. He felt his teeth shift as he charged. He took advantage of this to latch onto Hanzo’s shoulder and shake. 

Hanzo backhanded him and Jesse flew across the room. “Calm down, mutt,” Hanzo sneered. 

“I’ll be calm when you're dead,” Jesse snarled as he slowly got up and circled Hanzo. The wound on Hanzo’s shoulder was already knitting back together and it infuriated Jesse further. “I don't know why I began to trust you, you’re a brother killing snake.”

“Actually, I’m much more of a dragon. Just because I have scales when shifted doesn't mean I'm a snake.”

“Fuck  _ off _ ,  _ Shimada. _ ”

“You need to calm down, McCree. Acting like this won't solve anything,” Hanzo’s voice was annoyingly calm as he stared Jesse down. Some part of Jesse pieced together what was so strange about Hanzo’s eyes as he stared in them -- the irises were constantly shifting slightly in color, as if molten, and the pupils were almost pointed.

Jesse’s jaw clenched and unclenched as Hanzo’s words played in his head. What was there to solve? He had bitten Fareeha. There was no coin back from that. His raw fury melted down into despair at the thought. 

“I don't care. I already ruined everything. Ana is gonna kill me, Fareeha’s life is ruined,” Jesse let out a choked sob.

“Thinking like that helps nothing.”

“Shut the fuck up, Shimada. You wouldn't know what this is like.”

“Wouldn't know what this is like?” Hanzo laughed bitterly. “I thought I ruined Genji’s life, McCree, I thought I  _ killed him _ . I know exactly what this is like.”

“And you’ve moped around for a decade and have done nothing to change.”

“I’ve done  _ everything  _ to change. But that is not the point of this. I thought I ruined Genji’s life, but I didn't. He has found himself through losing himself. Perhaps it will be that way with Fareeha as well.”

Jesse snarled, “Genji didn't turn into a werewolf.”

“Genji died, McCree. I think that might be worse.”

Jesse was about to shoot back a response when Angela and Fareeha ran into the room. Fareeha’s hand was bandaged, but Jesse could see that blood was already starting to seep through. He knew her wound shouldn't have been bleeding like that, the bite had been shallow. But something about his saliva and blood must have messed with Fareeha’s blood’s ability to coagulate. 

“What is going on?” Angela snapped.

“Nothin’,” Jesse said. 

“Nothing?” Angela asked, incredulous. “First Lena comes to me, saying you had a panic attack in the middle of a hallway and snapped at her, then Fareeha tells me you accidentally bit her in training and seemed to be having another. Jesse, this isn't nothing.”

Jesse scowled and shook his head, the human smell of Fareeha and Angela were painfully strong and he felt his stomach rolling. “There ain't nothin’ any of us can do about it?”

“Jesse, what’s happening with you? You’ve been acting strange ever since we met in that coffee shop. Then that fever, which I don't think ever went away, you just told Athena to stop monitoring your vitals,” Angela said as her eyes widened and she shook her head slightly, as if clearing it. Hanzo let out a strained groan of pain at that moment. “And, how could I have forgotten, there’s abnormalities in your blood work.”

“Nothin’ is happenin’ to me, I’m  _ fine _ .”

“Your aggression has been high,” Angela continued on. “Your strength is on par with what Jack or Gabriel’s had been, fever, strange illnesses, the list goes on. Jesse, have you been taking a bootleg of the SEP juice?”

Jesse laughed despite himself, “Darlin’ you couldn't be more wrong.”

“Don't ‘darling’ me, Jesse,” Angela snapped as she shoved her hand out, a small plastic cup that Jesse was more than familiar with clenched in its grip. “I want you to pee in this cup.”

“You ain’t gonna find drugs in my system, SEP or otherwise.”

“Then peeing in this cup won't be a problem. Or will you tell me the truth?”

“You want the truth?” Jesse asked, baring his teeth slightly, fangs flashing. “I’m a werewolf.”

Angela’s jaw worked, “ _ Pee in this cup _ ,” she said slowly through grit teeth.

“Stop with your jokes, Jesse,” Fareeha snapped. 

“It ain't a joke.”

“Yeah, and so I guess I’m a witch.”

“You could be, I dunno all the types of supernaturals out there,” Jesse shrugged. He turned to Fareeha and said, “ _ That’s _ a joke.”

“ _ Enough _ . Go pee in this cup so I can see what you’re hiding from me.”

“You wanna see what I'm hiding? Take me to an interrogation room so you can see me shift in safety.”

“McCree,  _ no _ ,” Hanzo snapped. 

“Shut the fuck  _ up _ , Shimada.”

“Fine,” Angela said slowly. “But just know, if you’re lying, you are in for a whole world of troubles.”

“Well then it’s a damn good thing I actually turn into a seven foot wolf.”

As the three of them -- Hanzo elected to stay behind -- made their way to the interrogation room, Lena and Winston crossed their path. The two of them had caught word of the commotion and had wanted to check on it. Lena had glared at Jesse with narrowed eyes and Winston had been silent, taking in the information he had been presented. 

“Stay out of this room,” Jesse ordered as he walked into the cell. “I don't know how my wolf responds to humans, but I can only assume it ain’t nice.”

Angela was tense with fury as she stared at Jesse, he could only assume that she still thought he was lying. Hell, the only person that looked like they moderately believed him was Winston, and Jesse was terrible at reading his facial expressions. 

Jesse shut the door on himself and immediately began stripping. “Jesse, what on Earth are you doing?” Fareeha asked over the intercom. 

“I said I turn into a seven foot wolf. The clothes of a six foot man ain't gonna fit, and I rather like this outfit.”

There was no official response, but Jesse could hear a muffled, “How long is he gonna keep this lie up?” From Lena. 

Jesse ignored her, ignored everything as he forced himself to shift. He shoved his fears of what they would do to him aside as the searing pain of the shift overcame him. 

His bones shifted first, elongating and contorting. The head was the worst, it always was, and he hated the fact that humans (and a gorilla) were staring at him as he went through this part of the shift. He knew how grotesque it looked as the bones rearranged themselves to go from human to canine. 

He was panting by the time his muscles started bulking out, rolling under his skin and growing. He let out a small whimper of pain as they grew. Fur was the final part to come, it was easy, painless, just a tickling sensation. 

There was silence as he finished his shifting, the only noise was his panting. He stared at the four watching him, blatant shock on their faces, from behind the glass and he sniffed, trying to find their scent. He was relieved to find that any human scents in the room were muted, no one had been in there for a long time. 

“What else have you been keeping from us?” Winston was the first to break the silence. 

Jesse’s jaw worked, and despite himself, he felt his lips draw up in a snarl. “I can't say.”

“Either you tell us, or you’re out of Overwatch,” Winston said plainly. There was no anger in his voice, he was just stating a fact.

Jesse chuffed out a breath and growled softly. “I’m workin’ with two demons, a bloodsucker, and a harpy in order to take down Talon and groups like it who are experimentin’ on and usin’ supernaturals like me for their own gain. And just know that if  _ any _ of you get a fuckin’ inkling of an idea or desire to experiment on me or Fareeha, I’m leavin’ and Overwatch is going on that list.”

“This isn't the time for threats, Jesse,” Angela snapped. She still looked surprised, as if she was still trying to process the fact that Jesse had turned into a giant wolf in front of her eyes. 

“It ain’t a threat. It's a promise. I’m not gonna let myself or anyone else like me become an experiment,” Jesse’s eyes were wide as he spoke, thoughts rolled through his head of what he had been told from Gabriel of what Talon had done. 

“We’re not going to experiment on you,” Winston said, trying to calm Jesse down. “But I need you to tell me who you’re working with, what they’re doing, and everything else you’ve been hiding from us.”

“It ain’t my place to tell you who I’m working with.”

“I don't care,” Winston said. “If you don't tell us, you’re out.”

Jesse felt the metal of the interrogation room table crumple under his grip as he grabbed hold of it in rage. “I can’t do that,” he spat. “Let me make a call so I can get  _ one  _ of my contacts to see if she can help.”

“Jesse, at this point, I do not care if you can or cannot do something, either you’re going to tell us who you’re working with, or we’re going to treat this as if you are working with Talon.”

“ _ I ain’t workin’ with Talon _ ,” Jesse growled, hackles rising. “The people I’m workin’ with need this secrecy.”

“Gabriel Reyes,” Lena ground out. “You’re working with him.”

“He ain't what everyone thinks he is.”

“Unbelievable!” Angela spat. “He’s a traitor, he killed Jack, he killed so many people, and you’re working with him? All because of some stupid crush you had when you were twenty?”

“I ain’t workin’ with him just ‘cause I’m fuckin’ him,” Jesse bared his teeth in a snarl as he continued on, “He didn’t kill Jack, he saved Jack’s life, he has been workin’ against Talon for years, since before even the fall.”

Angela’s eyes narrowed, “Oh I’m sorry, let me correct myself, you’ve let him lie to you due to you still having some stupid crush on him, even after he’s killed innocent people.” She threw her hands up into the air and let out a frustrated breath, “I thought I was your best friend, I thought you were supposed to tell me everything.”

“Oh I’m sorry,” Jesse snarled. “Do you want to roleplay how this would have gone? I’ll do both roles. Here’s what I would have said, ‘Hey Angie! Guess what? Turns out Gabriel Reyes isn’t the evil bad guy the entire world thinks he is. Instead, he became an incubus in order to work against Talon. By the way, Jack Morrison is alive and a vampire thanks to Gabriel literally saving his life. Oh? Ana Amari is alive as well, she’s a goddamn harpy. By the way, I turn into a wolf during the full moon.’ And then y’all would have tossed me in jail or somethin’ to try and draw Gabe out until the full moon hit and y’all got uncontrollable werewolf in your face since I doubt I’d be able to control myself around humans on the full moon. Because  _ none  _ of y’all would have believed me about Gabe not bein’ the monster everyone painted him to be.”

“That’s not true,” Angela protested.

“Is it not? Because apparently you don’t trust me enough on this, even when I’m a wolf right in front of your eyes. Imagine how you would have reacted if I had just said that. I told Lena the truth earlier, and she didn’t believe it.”

“We don't trust you because you've been hiding this from us,” Angela ground out. “If you’re not working with Talon then you should have been--”

“Angela,” Lena cut her off. “I’m angry too, but we just need to listen.”

“Gabe and Sombra have been workin’ on the inside of Talon for the past several years--”

“Is Gabriel Reaper?” Winston asked, his voice was flat and eerily calm and Jesse repressed the urge to lick his lips submissively.

“Yes.”

Winston slammed his fist down, “So you  _ lied _ to me about the identities of Reaper and I can only assume 76?”

“What fuckin’ choice did I have?” Jesse yelled. “Do you  _ know _ what would happen to Gabe if the truth of his identity and what he is got out and Talon heard? They'd experiment on him, they’d bind him to their will.”

“Then it sounds to me like he should get out of it,” Lena said. 

Jesse barked out a bitter laugh, “And let them continue on as usual? The only reason we were able to stop Talon at Dorado is because Gabriel and Sombra were able to weaken Talon internally.”

“He shot you,” Angela said softly. 

“Because I told him to or else y’all would've been suspicious about how I walked away from Reaper without a scratch, or god forbid he would have been forced to  _ kill _ one of you because there was no way any of you would have survived a confrontation with him.”

A choked sob left Fareeha’s lips, the only noise she had made since Jesse had shifted. Angela’s head whipped towards Fareeha and then back to Jesse. He had never seen her so angry. “So you didn't want to put anyone in danger with Re-- Gabriel, but you were more than fine with putting everyone on base in danger with you even being here?”

“ _ I had it under control _ ,” Jesse snarled. 

“Under control?” Angela laughed in anger as Fareeha openly sobbed. Guilt burned and sat heavy in Jesse’s gut. “You  _ bit _ Fareeha.”

“If you’d let me make a call, I could see if I can fix it,” Jesse grit his teeth and forced himself to keep his lips down despite how much he wanted to bare his teeth. He knew in his gut, there was no going back from the bite. But he was holding onto the thread of hope that there was something Sombra could do to reverse it. 

“Make the call,” Winston said flatly before switching off the intercom and turning the glass back into a mirrored surface. He knew that they were still hearing every word he said and saw every movement he made, but it was as one way as the glass they had. Jesse stared at his reflection and felt disgust coil in his belly. 

In his time with Gabriel, Jack, and Ana he had begun accepting the wolf in him. Gabriel frequently forced him to spend time shifted, or would shift himself to let Jesse begin to accept the differences in forms. Being a werewolf become something useful and beneficial. In Overwatch, the wolf became a burden. A liability. 

Jesse could hear Winston and Angela arguing from behind the glass but he forced himself to ignore them as he popped open a flashbang and pulled his comm to Sombra out. 

Before calling her, he tried to shift himself back into a human state but he couldn't. He was too keyed up, too many emotions were rolling through his veins, and it was too close to the full moon. Jesse bit back a hysterical sob as he continued trying to force the shift. It just wasn't happening. 

Giving up on the shift, he began a call to Sombra and waited for her to respond. It took a few minutes of ringing before she finally picked up with a, “Hey, Jessito, kinda busy here.” Jesse heard the  _ rat-a-tat  _ of her gun as she presumably killed or disabled someone.

“It’s an emergency,” Jesse said flatly. “I need you  _ now _ .”

“What’s up?” More gunshots could be heard in the background and Jesse could hear the buzz of Sombra’s tech latching onto a server. 

“I… I,” Jesse couldn't get the words out, each time he tried to say ‘bit’ it was like his jaw froze up.

“Jesse?” Genuine concern laced Sombra’s voice. “What happened?”

“I bit somebody,” Jesse finally got out and it was like he opened a floodgate as tears welled in his eyes. “Sombra, I thought I could do this, Ana was right, I shouldn't have come back,” he sobbed.

“When did you bite them?” Sombra asked, businesslike. 

Jesse let out a ragged breath as he willed his sobs to stop, “Half an hour to an hour ago. I bit her hand, unshifted. I think some of my blood had been on my teeth.”

“Give me a mo--” Sombra cut herself off and she argued in Spanish with someone. Jesse’s Spanish was too rudimentary and Sombra’s speaking was too quick for him to understand what she was saying. He caught a few words, but not enough for him to place who she was talking to, or what they were talking about. 

“Sombra?” Jesse asked. 

“Just a sec, Jess,” Sombra said before arguing further with the person and sighing loudly. “You couldn't have bit someone at a more opportune time?” Jesse could hear Sombra rolling her eyes as she typed away loudly to get into whatever system she was hacking into. 

“Sorry, Sombra, I guess I’ll check in with your schedule the next time my instincts fuckin’ kick in,” Jesse snapped. 

“Yeah, that’d be great,” Sombra sounded bored as she continued typing. “I’ve already got this Talon shit to deal with -- they’re ramping up their research on supernaturals ever since Akande broke out of jail.”

“How do you mean?” Jesse was snapped back to business. The news of Talon ramping up research was enough to take his mind away from his fuck up. 

“Well, right now I'm trying to wreck a couple databases for Talon and cripple the research, but this is bad, Jesse.”

“Can you explain more when you get here? Unfortunately, Overwatch has now been made aware of supernaturals.”

Jesse heard gunshots in the distance in Sombra’s comm and her typing sped up, “Yeah, how much do they know?”

“Well, I’m currently a giant wolf.”

“ _ Ay pobrecito _ , that’s no good.”

“Nope.”

A few minutes of silence save for rapid clicking and gunshots followed. Jesse could hear more muttering on the other side of the one way glass, but before he could pay enough attention to make out the words, Sombra spoke again. “I’m done, give me a sec to get a ping on your location and I’ll drop in.”

“Sounds good, how long do you think fucking with the databases is gonna fuck with their research?”

“Not long enough,” Sombra sighed. “Akande’s a problem and I need to figure out how to take him out.”

“He human or what?” Jesse asked, he was vaguely familiar with Akande, but not as much as he felt he should have been. 

“Human, mostly. Augmented with cybernetics and he’s been testing some of the research on himself,” Sombra said. “I’ll explain when I get there, just about got a ping bc so just hold on.”

About a minute passed before the interrogation room flashed, the purple lights that signified Sombra’s teleportation lit up the room. Jesse shot up and began walking towards the epicenter as Sombra’s figure formed. 

Unexpectedly, a second figure passed through the light next to her and Jesse’s eyes widened as he identified the scent of them, unable to make out any details by sight thanks to the blinding lights. 

“Sombra,” Jesse said slowly. “Usually, you should warn a man before bringing in a guest.”

Sombra raised an eyebrow as the lights disappeared, “And ruin the surprise? I thought people liked when their boyfriends surprised them.”

“ _ Sombra _ ,” Gabriel said in a warning tone. 

“Look, Gabi heard my side of the conversation and got worried.”

“He’s who you were arguing with,” the realization dawned on Jesse. 

“Yup, tried to convince him to stay behind, he wouldn't let me,” Sombra rolled his eyes. “They know that he’s not actually the man who caused the downfall of Overwatch, or do I have a bunch of explaining to do?”

“We know,” Winston turned their side of the comm on and the glass was no longer mirrored. “You’ve got explaining to do, but Gabriel should be covered.”

“Well then, boys and girls, settle in because apparently I’m the one called in to fix mistakes,” Sombra teleported out of the interrogation cell and next to Fareeha. “She the one bitten? Don't answer that, of course she is.”

“How can you tell?” Angela asked, voice tense. 

“I’ve been alive for hundreds of years, I can see the signs of a wolf bite,” Sombra said as she grabbed Fareeha’s hand to inspect the bite. “I doubt there’s anything I can do to reverse this, but I can try.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "There's gonna be only a chapter left after I finish this one" -- me, a fool who has massive scope creep on everything and so in fact there are gonna have to be two or three chapters after this one to wrap everything up lmao
> 
> Follow me on social media @smalls2233


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything comes to a close

“Wait,” Winston said before Sombra could work on Fareeha. “Jesse was asking something earlier -- if someone were human or not?”

Sombra paused, “Akande Ogunmidu. Also known as Doomfist. I'm sure you’re familiar with him,” she turned a pointed look to Winston and Lena.

“What’s his deal?” Lena asked, leaning forward.

“Time’s ticking on Fareeha,” Sombra tapped her fingers on her arm. “ _ Probably  _ should save the explanations for later.”

Lena opened her mouth to protest, but was silenced by Angela putting a hand on her arm. “Later,” Angela said gently.

All eyes were turned to Sombra and Fareeha as the air crackled around them. A soft glow encapsulated Sombra, and her tattoos lit up the room in a wash of pinks and purples. She changed in a language unfamiliar to Jesse, but according to Gabriel’s body language, strangely familiar to him.

Sombra gently took Fareeha’s chin into her hand and pressed a clawed finger to her forehead, drawing a small amount of blood. All of the light in the room seemed to be drawn to the welling blood and Jesse’s chest felt tight with held breath.

Sombra stopped her changing and the lights slowly began to fade away, the blood on Fareeha’s forehead taken with them.

“I’m sorry,” Sombra said softly. “The only thing I can do is make the shift easier.”

Fareeha wailed in despair and Jesse let out a choking sob. He ruined Fareeha’s life, it was all his fault. 

Gabriel took Jesse tightly into his arms and slowly stroked his fur to calm him down. It was a difficult task, every cell in Jesse’s body felt like it was in pain, like they were all being stabbed by his guilt.

Fareeha’s wailing was cut short with another flash of light and a whispered, “ _ Duerme, Pobrecita. _ ”

“Sombra, what--” Lena started to ask.

“She needs the rest,” Sombra interrupted Lena. “She’s in a dreamless sleep, she'll wake up in a few hours.”

“What can I do?” Angela asked softly. 

Sombra leaned against the wall and appraised Angela, “Be understanding with her. The smell of humans tends to drive wolves mad at first. Quelling their instincts to be able to handle humans takes practice. Usually years of it.”

“But Jesse--”

“Jesse’s an odd case, and even he couldn't handle humans. Not really,” Gabriel cut in, ignoring Jesse’s pained look.

“And how do you know?” Angela snapped. 

“I know because he’s my partner,” Gabriel snapped back. “He was  _ ill  _ last month because he forced himself to stay with you all as long as possible.”

“Gabriel, I can speak for myself,” Jesse frowned as much as he could with a muzzle instead of a human mouth. 

Jesse was ignored. “It’s my fault that Fareeha was bitten, I should have realized that humans would trigger his need for biting.”

“Gabe it ain't your fault,” Jesse tried to cut in.

“Jesse’s a grown adult, he can take responsibility for his own mistakes,” Angela scowled. “You didn't force him to bite down.”

“ _ Enough _ ,” Sombra snapped. “I have more important things to do than listen to the two of you bicker.”

“I don't even  _ know you _ ,” Angela snapped back. “Don't get around to telling me what to do.”

“Right now, I’m about to be the person saving Overwatch’s sorry ass,” Sombra rolled her eyes. “Because Akande’s coming after you. Especially the monkey, the cyborg, and the time traveler”

“I’m not a time traveler,” Lena protested at the same time Winston said, “I’m not a monkey.”

“Whatever,” Sombra rolled her eyes once again. “Point being, he’s mad as Lucifer was when he was kicked out of heaven.”

“Are you speaking from experience?” Lena muttered.

Sombra laughed loudly, “That’s a good joke. Sadly, not. I was born a couple thousand years after that. Old bastard’s still sulking, though.”

“Sombra, get on with the point.”

“Yeah, yeah. Chill, Gabe,” Sombra waved him off but her tone grew serious once more. “Talon has been experimenting with the genetics of supernaturals. You’re familiar with Amelie LaCroix, I’m sure?” She waited for heads to slowly nod before continuing, “Well she was one of the first experiments. An amalgam of different supernatural types all in one body and bound to the will of Talon.”

“One of the first?” Winston asked, disgust evident in his voice.

Sombra frowned, “There’ve been waves of these experiments. Akande is part of the tenth wave. And by part of, I mean he’s the entirety of it.”

“What is he?” Jesse asked softly.

“He’s been experimenting with the genes of werecats,” Sombra said. “Lions in particular. I knocked out the databases on this info, but I know there's backups somewhere. It’s just a matter of how long it will take for them to grab them.”

“I promised myself, when I left Horizon,” Winston said softly. “That I would never let experiments like what happened to me happen to another intelligent creature. Some of the researchers meant well, like Harold. But others,” he sighed. “Well, there’s a reason my brothers and sisters revolted.”

“Then you understand why we need to stop Talon?” Sombra asked. “Because it’s not just the experiments on supernaturals. Akande is planning on using this to spur a new war, worse than the crisis.”

“How?” Angela asked quietly. 

“I’ll pull up my files on this,” Sombra said as she pulled up a holoscreen. 

Jesse’s view of Sombra and her holoscreens became blocked by Gabriel who grabbed hold of his snout, pulled at it so Jesse was staring down straight into Gabriel’s eyes, and seemed to be inspecting Jesse for any injuries. Jesse snorted in frustration and tried to wiggle free from Gabriel’s grip so he could try to keep an eye on what Sombra was doing. 

“Shh,” Gabriel soothed, letting smoke flow from him to hide Jesse’s view of Sombra and the others. 

“Gabriel, what--” Lena asked before she was cut off with a wave of Gabriel’s hand. 

“I’m cleaning up your mess,” Gabriel rolled his eyes and slowly stroked Jesse’s chin. Despite himself, Jesse relaxed into the touch. “Can you shift back?” Gabriel asked softly. 

Jesse shook his head almost imperceptibly.  “Too close to the moon, feelings are too keyed up,” he said softly in explanation. 

The intercom buzzed again as someone on the other side tried to communicate, but Gabriel stopped it with a snap of his fingers and a roll of his eyes. “You can bother Jesse  _ after _ I calm him down.”

“Pretty sure they’re gonna wanna bother  _ you _ , babe,” Jesse laughed softly. “I did my explainin’.”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow, “How much did you explain?”

Jesse exhaled loudly through his nose, “The general shit, mostly. I'm a wolf, you’re a fuckin’ demon -- literally, Jackie boy’s a bloodsucker, and Ana’s a harpy. You’re workin’ against Talon on the inside. You didn't kill everybody they said you did.”

“I bet I can guess how well that went over,” Gabriel laughed quietly as he brought his free hand to Jesse’s neck and began to slowly scratch and stroke the soft, silky fur. It was pleasant and Jesse wanted to fully melt into the sensation, for Gabriel to never let go of him, but guilt sat heavy in his stomach. He couldn't stop thinking of Fareeha, of what he had done. 

“Gabe, I fucked up,” Jesse began. 

“Jesse,” Gabriel cut him off. “Yeah, you fucked up,” as strange as it was, Jesse was reassured by Gabriel’s lack of mincing words. It reminded him of the early days of Blackwatch where he would act out and Gabriel would correct him with a firm hand and helpful words. “You might not’ve been ready to come back to Overwatch. But you can't change what happened.”

Jesse whined, a high pitched noise as he shook his jaw free from Gabriel’s hand and buried his nose in the crook of his neck. Gabriel smelled like gunpowder and blood, but underneath all of it was his comforting, familiar smell. Jesse continued his whine as he nipped and licked at Gabriel’s skin. 

Gabriel made soothing noises as he continued stroking Jesse’s neck fur with a hand. If Jesse’s small bites were painful, he didn't let it show. Jesse continued his nipping, the overwhelming desire to bite and chew not lessened from his encounter with Fareeha. If anything, now that he was with Gabe, it was there tenfold.

So Jesse indulged himself by pulling Gabriel’s free arm to his snout and biting down, hard enough to break skin. If it hurt Gabriel, he gave no indication. He just continued to stroke Jesse’s fur and made calming noises, as if Jesse were an injured wild animal. 

The idea of that wasn't far off. Jesse certainly  _ felt _ more like an animal than a hu-- than a person at that point. He was being monitored, he was essentially caged, he had  _ fur  _ for christ’s sake. 

Fuck, maybe being an animal would be easier than pretending to be a human. Even with everything happening, it felt like a weight was lifted from Jesse’s shoulders, knowing that his secret was out to at least three humans and a super intelligent gorilla. 

Two humans, Jesse corrected himself. Fareeha wasn't human any longer. It was his fault. He fucked up. His bites grew harder as a wailing whine left his throat. 

Gabriel’s hand left his fur and grabbed his chin. “Jesse?” Gabriel asked, pressure firm as he forced Jesse to stop biting and to look him in his eyes. 

Jesse flattened his ears and tried to look away. “Just can't stop thinkin’, babe,” he said softly, letting go of Gabriel’s arm with some reluctance. His jaw still ached something fierce and he eyed the hard steel of the table, wondering if that would help. 

“Do you want help with that?” Gabriel asked gently as he flexed his chewed up arm. Smoke clouded around it as the wounds reformed into mostly-unmarked flesh. 

Jesse cocked his head to a side as he stared at Gabriel, “How'd’ya mean?” He asked. 

Gabriel shook his hand and the smoke that had been around his arm pooled into a ball in his hand, “Remember when I used this before?”

“Babe I'm not fuckin’ you right now,” Jesse’s voice was flat. 

Gabriel rolled his eyes, “I’m not about to give Ziegler that show.”

“Gabe,” Jesse said in a warning tone. “Not in a good state of mind right now.”

“Look, I can use it to knock you out,” Gabriel continued as the smoke coiled around his hand. Jesse stared, transfixed. “You should shift back at some point while you’re out. But if not, you’ll hopefully be in a state of mind when you wake up that you’ll be able to control yourself again.”

Jesse whined softly as he rested his chin on the top of Gabriel’s head and wrapped his massive arms around him. The potential of forced sleep was tempting. But there was a problem, “Would I dream?” He asked. 

Gabriel buried his head in Jesse’s chest fur, “I don't think so,” he said, voice muffled by the fur. 

“Would you stay with me?” Despite his size, Jesse felt tiny. He wanted to sleep so badly, but he was terrified of nightmares haunting him. He was terrified of sleeping alone, without Gabriel. 

Gabriel let out a breath and Jesse felt it tickle his fur. “I don't know, Jesse,” Gabriel admitted. “Ideally I would, but…” he trailed off. 

“But Overwatch,” Jesse finished for him. 

“But Overwatch,” Gabriel agreed with a long sigh. “I gotta help sort all this out. Sombra has a great ability to piss people off.”

Jesse chuffed out a laugh, “Darlin’, I think you’re forgettin’ that you have too.”

Gabriel grinned into Jesse’s fur, “You know, you might have a point.”

“I tend to have those from time to time,” Jesse said as he let go of Gabriel with some reluctance. He knew what he needed to do, fears or not, “Just knock me out, boss.”

Gabriel nodded as Jesse backed away and sat down, tail twitching anxiously. “Just keep breathing slowly and evenly,” he said as he directed smoke towards Jesse.

Jesse fought back the urge to sneeze or cough as he breathed in Gabriel’s smoke. He was no stranger to smoking, but something about the smoke this time around made him want to cough it back up. He forced himself to take deep, even breaths as a seemingly endless amount of smoke poured down his throat.

“You’re doing well,” Gabriel praised him as Jesse’s breaths grew shallower, his eyelids grew heavier. Jesse trailed Gabriel with a half-shut eye as he walked over and crouched next to him. Soon after Gabriel crouched down, Jesse leaned down to lay on his lap, tongue half out in a forgotten attempt to lick Gabriel. 

The last thing Jesse processed before everything went black was Gabriel’s warm hand scratching behind his ears. Then, the world went hazy as whatever magic Gabriel poured into his smoke finally hit Jesse like a freight train and the world fell into a blissfully dreamless sleep. 

\---

When Jesse woke up the only fur on his body was that of his thankfully human body hair. He was also tucked into his bed, nose pressed tight against Gabriel’s long, leather coat that was coated in his familiar scent. 

Thoughts turned to Gabriel, Jesse sat up in his bed, wincing as his aching muscles made the job more difficult. He blinked slowly as he looked around his dark bedroom, eyes scanning for Gabriel. 

“Gabe?” Jesse asked softly when his eyes landed on a hazy, smokey part of his room. “That you?”

With a seemingly large amount of effort, the smoke shifted and began to solidify. It felt like it took years for the smoke to solidify in the shape of Gabriel, halfway between his true form and his more humanoid form. His horns stretched from his head, and his lower legs were hooves. Gabriel looked exhausted, his eyelids hung heavy and bags laid under his eyes. Smoke and shadows hung around him in a thick cloud. 

“Gabe?” Jesse asked, concern painting his voice as he took Gabriel’s appearance in. “When was the last time you refueled?”

“It’s been a while,” Gabriel’s voice was raspy. “This Doomfist shit has been eating up all my time,” he ran a hand through his hair that was half smoke. “I’d been intending on filling up tonight, but then you had to bite Fareeha,” a grin softened his words but Jesse was concerned. “And then…”

“And then you wasted energy, wasted magic, on me.”

Gabriel shrugged, “Jesse, I’d give my everything to you.”

Jesse motioned for Gabriel to come closer, “Darlin’ I would too, but you gotta take care of yourself.”  _ Hypocrite _ , Jesse thought to himself.  _ You fucking hypocrite. Can't even take care of yourself and you're telling Gabe to take care of himself.  _

Gabriel shook his head as he laid down next to Jesse on the bed, “I’m fine, sweetheart.”

“Bullshit, you ain't,” Jesse said as he wrapped an arm around Gabriel. “You’re barely holdin’ yourself together.”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow, “So are you.”

“And you helped me out with that,” Jesse said slowly as a thought crossed his mind. “Let me help you with this.”

“Jesse, I don't want to force you into this,” Gabriel said gently.

“Gabe, you’re hurtin’,” Jesse said, voice equally gentle. “This is why we have each other, you said you'd do anythin’ for me, I’d do anythin’ to help you.”

Gabriel opened his mouth protest, but Jesse cut him off with a kiss and a whispered, “Let me take care of you, darlin’.”

“Don't push yourself, Jesse,” Gabriel said when they broke free from the kiss. “You’re moving like you hurt.”

Jesse winced, “I’m aching, but it’s full moon stuff. Gabe, you  _ need _ to fuck somebody.”

Gabriel sighed smoke out through his nose, “I don't want to put the burden on you.”

Jesse planted soft kisses on Gabriel’s bearded jaw, “It’s not a burden. Gabriel, I love you, I’m always here for you, to support you through everythin’.”

“I love you too, Jesse,” Gabriel said as he nuzzled into Jesse. 

Jesse’s kisses began to go lower, drifting from Gabriel’s jaw, to his neck, until he was mouthing at Gabriel’s shirt. He ran his blunt, human teeth along Gabriel’s collarbone, biting down softly on the hard bone and enjoying the noise of Gabriel’s hiss. 

Gabriel tilted his head back to allow Jesse greater access. Jesse took advantage of this as he nosed along Gabriel’s shoulder and neck, landing on the mating bite he had left during the hellish first rut he had spent with Gabriel. 

“I love you,” Jesse murmured as he bit down lightly on the mark. Gabriel moaned softly in response. As he was, Jesse's teeth weren't a perfect match for the bite. When he had initially made it, he was partially shifted. His teeth were fangs. But even still, the wolf inside of Jesse felt possessive over the bite, knew it was his.

So Jesse’s bite grew harder until he felt his teeth break skin once again. Gabriel’s smokey blood flowed and Jesse lapped at it, tongue lathed over the wounds, sealing the bite in. 

“Take off your shirt,” Jesse ordered quietly into Gabriel’s neck. He was sucking marks into his neck, continuing to mark Gabriel as  _ his _ . The wolf in him wanted to make sure that everybody would see that Gabriel belonged to him, that he belonged to Gabriel. 

He was done with hiding. His secret was out, removed from the stress of the situation, his mind was clear. Or, at least it was clear of panic. Some part of him realized that this obsessive marking was because of the rapidly approaching full moon, but he couldn't bring himself to care. 

Being with Gabriel also made it harder for him to care. He felt so comforted in the presence of him. It was stupid, but some part of him still felt like everything would be alright if Gabriel was there with him. 

“Feeling possessive?” Gabriel chuckled as he obliged Jesse. Jesse grunted an affirmation as he pulled back for long enough for Gabriel to strip himself of his shirt and tackle Jesse. 

Gabriel bared his sharklike teeth in a feral grin as he stared down at Jesse. “My turn,” he purred and bit down on the mark  _ he _ had given Jesse that rut when Jesse begged him to mark him. 

Delicious pain and arousal flared through Jesse at the feeling. He groaned and rut up his hips into Gabriel’s cloth covered leg. Gabriel loosened his bite, but dragged his sharp teeth along Jesse’s skin, leaving a trail of bleeding flesh before biting down on his shoulders, his collarbone, his pecs. 

“Thought I was supposed to be takin’ care of you,” Jesse said breathlessly as Gabe bit another deep mark, this time right under his jaw. He knew realistically that he shouldn't be getting excited over Gabriel marking him. Shit, that he shouldn't have been marking Gabriel up as much as he had been. That very soon he was likely going to be in a meeting about Talon. But he couldn't help but melt into Gabriel’s bites. 

“We’re taking care of each other,” Gabriel grinned into Jesse’s skin as he nudged his thigh up between Jesse’s legs, causing Jesse to wetly gasp. 

“Gabe,” Jesse groaned as he rut into Gabriel’s leg. 

Gabriel was already more solid as Jesse stared up at him. He was still half-shifted. Still had hooves and horns, but he wasn't smoking, no shadows were surrounding him. He looked less tired as he pulled his pants off, freeing his cock. 

“I’ve always wanted to do this,” Gabriel murmured softly between licks as he lapped the blood off of Jesse’s neck. “Fuck you on this bed, in this room, I mean.”

“Oh?” Jesse asked as he melted into the feeling of Gabriel’s tongue on his neck. “Walk me through what you wanted to do.”

“First, tell me where the lube is,” Gabriel said, his warm breath tickled Jesse’s neck. 

Jesse closed his eyes for a brief moment. “Bedstand, second drawer behind the box of papers.”

Gabriel grinned and breathed out a laugh, “You’re bringing work to the bedroom?”

“Ain't like I usually get much action in here, darlin’,” Jesse drawled. “If I'm in here I'm either jerkin’ off, sleepin’, or workin’.”

“Or tearing it up,” Gabriel said, an eyebrow raised as he uncapped the lube and poured a generous amount onto his hand. 

“Noticed the feathers?” Jesse asked. Because of course Gabriel did. His room was still a mess from his earlier terrorization of it. 

“Mm,” was Gabriel’s answer as he kneeled next to Jesse. “Spread your legs for me, baby,” he tapped one of Jesse’s legs with his unlubed hand. 

Jesse willingly spread his legs for Gabriel and let out a content sigh as Gabriel slowly slid a finger into him. He let himself forget all of his troubles, forget everything that was going on outside of his room, everything that wasn't Gabriel Reyes. 

His entire world was Gabriel as Gabriel contrasted his gentle fingering with hard bites on his inner thighs. Gabriel might not have been a werewolf, but Jesse’s wolf saw him as a pack mate, an alpha. As much as he wanted to continue marking Gabriel up, he was content to let his entire body be marked by Gabriel. 

Jesse’s moan was loud as Gabriel slid a second finger into him and started kissing at the bites he had left in Jesse’s skin. 

“You’re a feast,” Gabriel said softly as Jesse writhed above him. “A gorgeous feast.”

“One you were gonna deny yourself,” Jesse said with a breathless laugh and a moan as Gabriel’s fingers curled against his prostate. 

“Mm,” Gabriel hummed. “Dunno what I was thinking.”

“That you wanted to be a good mate?” Jesse laughed. 

“Mate?” Gabriel asked, pausing his fingering for a moment. 

Jesse knit his brows together as his hips thrust down on Gabriel’s stalled fingers. “Shit, boyfriend, partner. Fuckin’ wolf brain.”

“I like it,” Gabriel murmured as he added in a third finger. “Mate, rolls off the tongue pretty.”

“It’s not,” Jesse took a deep, shaky breath. “It’s not very human, though.”

Gabriel looked up at him as he once again slowed his fingers. “We’re not human, Jesse.”

Jesse sighed loudly, knowing that he was killing the mood. “I know, it’s just,” he ran a hand down his face. “Being back in Overwatch has made things difficult. When I'm with you and Jack and Ana, it’s easy. I can walk around all shifted like it’s natural. Bein’ back here with all these humans keeps remindin’ me of everything I've lost. I keep havin’ to pretend I'm human which keeps remindin’ me of how  _ not _ I am.”

“Jesse,” Gabriel said tenderly as he stroked the side of Jesse’s belly. “You don't have to pretend anymore.”

Jesse let out a shuddering breath, “but I  _ will _ . I don't want no one outside of Winston, Lena, Angie, Fareeha, and Hanzo knowin’ the truth. So I'm gonna have to go back to lyin’ each day.” He futilely tried to blink back tears, “If they don't kick me out of Overwatch.”

“Jesse, they're not kicking you out of Overwatch.”

“How do you know that?” Jesse snapped. “Gabe, I lied. I kept shit hidden. I'm a danger to every human I'm around.”

“Sombra and I have made it very clear that nobody is better suited for the role of Blackwatch’s commander than you, Jesse,” Gabriel said firmly. “Even before everything went to hell, I was planning on having you take my place when I eventually left Blackwatch. You were born for this job.”

“This ain’t very good fuckin’ talk, is it?” Jesse asked, trying to change the subject. Despite Gabriel’s fingers still in him, Jesse was mostly soft again. “Shouldn't have fuckin’ opened my mouth.”

“Jesse,” Gabriel said gently. “You can't bottle everything up.”

“You sure about that?”

“Jesse,” Gabriel’s tone was firmer. “Do you know why you’re having a hard time controlling your shifting?”

Jesse grit his teeth and shrugged. 

“You bottle everything up, you don't want to burden anybody with anything,” Gabriel’s voice was firm, the no-nonsense commander that Jesse knew. “You don't control your emotions, you either lock them away so you won't have to deal with them or you wear them on your sleeve.” He slid his fingers out of Jesse and brought Jesse into a sitting posting, arms wrapped around Jesse’s waist. 

“It’s how I’ve always handled things,” Jesse murmured. 

Gabriel ran a hand through Jesse’s hair. “Maybe so, but you can't do that anymore, Jess.”

“Could we just go back to the fucking?” Jesse asked, trying to shift the subject. 

Gabriel didn't grab the bait, “Later. You can't keep pushing this stuff off, baby.” His hand was still running through Jesse’s hair in a way that distinctly reminded Jesse of being pet. “I had to reassure everybody that you wouldn't do something like this again.”

Jesse sighed loudly as he relaxed into Gabriel’s pets. “I can't be sure that this won't happen again,” his voice was barely above a whisper. 

“It’s why you have to learn to handle your emotions,” Gabriel said gently as his pets turned into him gently scratching Jesse’s scalp, causing Jesse to melt further into his ministrations. 

“Sayin’ that and doin’ that are two very different tasks,” Jesse protested. 

“Which is why Jack’s gonna be coming and assisting you,” Gabriel said. 

“How do you mean?” Jesse asked. 

“Sombra’s currently getting him and Ana, but they're going to be coming back to Overwatch. Blackwatch, actually, in Jack’s case.”

“How are we gonna explain that? As soon as it’s revealed they're alive, eyes are gonna turn onto you.”

“They’re gonna stay masked.”

“Ana has wings.”

“Sombra has glamours. She manipulates light, so she’s gonna hide Ana’s wings,” Gabriel explained. “So she’ll have to start checking in here weekly, but it should be fine.”

“They can't stay masked all the time, though.”

Gabriel exhaled softly, “They can't, but they’ll have to stay masked as much as possible. With the way things are moving, Overwatch needs their skills. Needs  _ your _ skills, Jesse.”

“So we’re gonna have to keep hiding?” Jesse asked, already knowing the answer.

Gabriel closed his eyes as he planted a gentle kiss to Jesse’s forehead, “We’re gonna have to hide all of our lives, Jesse. No matter where we are.”

“I hate it.”

“I know,” Gabriel’s voice was soft. “I do too. For the past twenty five years I've been hiding. Because of Blackwatch. Because of becoming a demon.”

Jessel leaned against Gabriel’s firm chest. “So we have eternity to hide ourselves because humans can't handle us?”

“As long as I can hide with you, I’m fine with it,” Gabriel whispered. 

“We can't always be together, though,” Jesse whined. “If you were here it’d be one thing. But you ain't gonna be here.”

“Only until Talon’s gone.”

“How long is that gonna be, Gabe?” Jesse hissed out in frustration. “Talon’s been here for decades and keeps gettin’ stronger.”

“Jesse, we’re gonna destroy it. We’re already weakening it. If we take down Ogundimu, I think it’ll collapse.”

Jesse sighed, “I’m tired, Gabe. Of everythin’. I thought comin’ back to Overwatch was what I needed, but everything has just been gettin’ worse and worse.”

“You’ll be just as miserable out of it,” Gabriel said, and Jesse knew he was right. All Jesse wanted was to move to a cabin in a forest with Gabriel and maybe Jack and forget the world. But that was a pipe dream for as long as Talon was still around. 

Jesse sighed as he nuzzled against Gabriel’s chest and inhaled his comforting scent. He was exhausted mentally. He just wanted to be  _ done _ with everything.

Gabriel softly stroked Jesse’s side. “When this is done,” Jesse said quietly. “We’re gettin’ out of Overwatch. We’re not dealin’ with humans no more.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’m tired of this.”

Gabriel swallowed hard, “I’m tired of killing,” he admitted. “When I was with Blackwatch, I could say it was for the greater good. Doing this stuff in Talon, I'm working on taking them down. But I hate it.” Gabriel let out a long, shuddering breath before he continued, “There’s blood on my hands enough for a thousand lifetimes.”

Jesse gently kissed Gabriel’s chest over a bite mark he had left earlier. “We’ll force Overwatch to buy us a cabin in the woods somewhere where no one can bother us.”

“That sounds good, Jess,” Gabriel said as he leaned down to kiss Jesse’s forehead. “Just you and me and maybe Jack.”

“And maybe Jack,” Jesse agreed as he sat up to nuzzle at Gabriel’s neck. “Overwatch can consult us if they need us, but we're gettin’ out of this game.”

Gabriel lifted up Jesse's chin to kiss him gently on the lips, “I think that sounds good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's done! I decided to keep the focus much more on Jesse and Gabe rather than Fareeha which is why I had been thinking there would be a couple more chapters needed to wrap this up, but that can be its own fic (irt her first shift, dealing with Ana being alive, etc) since I don't think it would be done justice through Jesse's PoV
> 
> But anyway, I'm going to do some short one shots/short multichaps between now and writing the doomfist fic that will fully wrap up jesse and gabe's story lol. So idk I'll prob start publishing the doomfist one mid/late october (thinking of prob getting a backlog of chapters and doing a twice weekly or weekly update schedule instead of updating daily and then once every week or two bc I'm a mess which is what I did with this fic haha)
> 
> I'm really glad that people have been reading these fics and enjoying them, though!! I've never finished a single multichap fic before this series and now I'm nearly 120k words into overwatch fanfiction since may. It's a nice feeling!!
> 
> \--
> 
> Follow me online @smalls2233


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